Category: b2c

Game-like shopping apps for Android you can share with friends

Posted on by shopkick

I was at the grocery store recently and happened to run into an old girlfriend I hadn’t seen since, gosh, it must have been high school! We got to talking about what’s going on with us, and pretty soon that turned into talking about old times. It was kind of late at night, and both of us were just barely getting some shopping in, which reminded us of how we used to stay up late cramming for finals. In fact, the only way we got through some of our tougher exams was by studying together, making flash cards, and turning our sessions into a little game.

Android shopping apps “Wouldn’t it be fun,” my friend said, “if we could do our shopping that way, too? If we could just turn it into a little game?” I told her that yes it would and that in fact, with some of the new game-like shopping apps for Android, we could make our trips to the store into games!

My friend hadn’t heard of shopping apps for Android which, to be totally honest, took me a bit by surprise. She asked me to explain, which was easy because these apps are just so much more fun with friends. That’s why today I’d like to share the concept with all of you! Before we know it, we can all be out there having fun and saving money together.

How Game-Like Shopping Apps for Android Work

The first thing you need to know about shopping apps for Android is how they work. All my favorites have a pretty simple step-by-step process:

  • Walk into certain stores, and get points.
  • Scan the barcodes of select products to get information, and get more points.
  • Purchase certain items with a linked card, or purchase certain items and use the app to take a picture of your receipt, and get even more points!
  • Trade those points in for gift cards to your favorite stores.
  • Savor the savings!

Also—and this is crucial nowadays—many of these shopping apps for Android also let you earn rewards while shopping online. The differences between how these apps work for online shopping versus in-person shopping is minute. Here’s how using a shopping app online works:

  • Visit certain online stores, and get points.
  • View select products, and get more points.
  • Make mobile purchases, and get even more points!
  • Watch certain videos and score points yet again.
  • Trade those points in for gift cards to all your favorite stores.
  • Really savor the savings!

See? Super easy! And, because you can use shopping apps for Android online as well as in-person, it’s easier than ever to get paid to shop.

Having Fun with Shopping Apps for Android

One of the things I stressed to my friend is that in order to get the most money back with these apps, you have to make sure you use them regularly. In my humble opinion, the best way to do this is to make sure you pick a shopping app for Android that is genuinely fun. That way you won’t have to make yourself to use it because you’ll be excited to bust it out each and every time you hit the store.

The ideal app should be one that turns shopping into a scavenger hunt for points by giving you a ton of different ways to score points. Another thing that’s really important is that the app has a vibrant and fun social media community, like a Facebook feed where you can also have a good time chatting with other folks who enjoy using the app too, swapping tips on how to get more points, or even just trading funny memes and jokes about life.

Here’s a list of game-like shopping apps you can share with friends, including ones that work like the savings apps I described above, plus some ideas to broaden your selection:

  • Shopkick: This one is great because it turns every trip to the store into a scavenger hunt for points that you can then trade in for gift cards. Share it with your friends so you can get together later to swap tips and advice! This app really is a blast to use as it provides so many cool opportunities to score points.
  • eBay: As far as I’m concerned, eBay is the original game-like shopping app. With its simple bid system, every purchase can be like a competition! And yeah, it’s no fun to miss out on something you really want, but it’s a ton of fun to win an auction.
  • The RealReal: This one is sort of like a game because it’s an aggregate site for pre-owned luxury items, meaning you can get really fancy stuff at a discount. But if you’re too slow, you’ll miss out! My friends and I sometimes like to just browse through The RealReal together and check out all the pre-owned luxury items people are looking to sell.
  • Giftagram: This app is perfect for holiday gift giving games like White Elephant or Secret Santa, especially if you want to play long distance! You can use Giftagram to pick out a present, then you simply enter the recipient’s email and phone number, and the service sends it to them! Plus, you can use it to send gifts from the U.S. to Canada and vice versa, which is very cool.

Of all of these, my personal favorite is Shopkick. That’s because it has more ways to score points than most of the other apps I’ve tried, and it has the most fun social media channels. In fact, I have so much fun looking at Shopkick’s goofy Facebook posts. Oh, and I should note that Shopkick is available for iPhone too, so you can get even more friends in on the fun.

Really though, the main point is that Shopkick is one of the best shopping apps for Android because it turns so much of your shopping time—both online and in person—into a fun game you can share with your friends. As I said above, with an app like Shopkick, you don’t have to remember to use it because you’ll find yourself actually looking forward to breaking it out at the store.

My friend and I actually made tentative plans to get together and do some shopping next week, or at least to get together for a coffee and talk about the deals we’ve been finding with our apps. What a great way to also stay in touch!

Start having more fun with shopping apps for your Android or iPhone by using Shopkick. Download the free shopping rewards app and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the fun of shopping with us!

And, if you love social media as much as you love your smartphone, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Image courtesy Daniel Ernst.

5 Video Advertising Statistics for 2018 Shaping Mobile Marketing

Posted on by shopkick

5 video advertising statistics for 2018 shaping mobile marketing

The video advertising statistics of 2018 show us that video is in high demand, both by consumers and by marketers. A lot of marketers swear by video, with 87% of online marketers reporting using video in their campaigns. This doesn’t mean video is a slam dunk for marketers. While video tends to have a bigger impact on brand awareness and market share, those numbers really only take into account well-developed video campaigns. A poorly performing video campaign can’t hope to truly capitalize on the powerful conversion potential of video marketing. The video advertising statistics of 2018 don’t just tell us what other marketers are doing, but they’re telling us what consumers want, which helps marketers create a truly impactful video campaign.

What consumers want is mobile video. More than half of all video viewing now occurs on mobile devices, and that number is steadily rising. Of course, much of that mobile viewing is entertainment-based content, rather than advertising. That’s one of the challenging parts of undertaking a mobile video campaign, in that you’re trying to get consumers to watch your ads when they’d rather be watching their favorite television programs or movies. Making the most of mobile video advertising requires a few adjustments to your strategy, so you can get consumers to view the content for your product, and more importantly, take action afterward.

Video Advertising Statistic #1: Long is Good, Just Not for Everyone

On its face, it might appear that longer format video is better, simply based on the statistics. About 48% of all video viewed on mobile is longer than five minutes, with 30% of that being video that’s 20 minutes or longer. That, however, does not mean that internet advertisers should err on the length when it comes to creating mobile ads. The successful length of a video depends on several factors:

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

The viewing platform:

Consumers may be more willing to view branded content and advertisements on some platforms than others. For example, Snapchat is a site where video advertising tends to do poorly, with the average video ad getting less than 3 seconds of view time. When using a platform like this, advertisers are best off providing their shortest advertisements.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Competition:

Some sites offer the opportunity to skip video advertisements—which serve as competition for attention—while others require users watch the entire video. When skipping is an option, it’s best to provide shorter content that users will be more willing to sit through.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Content type:

Hard sell direct advertising should be short, while branded content can be longer. Strictly speaking, the more enjoyable the content, the longer you can afford to make it.

While consumers are willing to sit through video advertisements if the length is right, another thing you need to consider is the video’s impact. After all, you want them to connect with your brand’s message enough that they’re willing to share it, in the hope that your video gets widespread attention.

Video Advertising Statistic #2: Personalization Makes Viral Videos Possible

Video is shared 1,200% more frequently than text and image posts. That’s good news for marketers who are trying to create a viral campaign. Of course, the key is the enjoyability of the ad. Making an ad amusing or interesting is a good way to gain attention. So is turning that ad into a personalized experience, which is more possible on mobile.

Malibu Rum followed this strategy with its Video Ticker and Video Toggle mobile video campaigns. The company used these platforms to target specific consumers in the UK aged 18 to 34. The personalization came as a result of time and location data from mobile. Dubbed the “Best Summer Ever” campaign, the ad gave users the option to choose between several different campaign videos based on where they were and when they visited the sites. The campaign was considered highly successful and was nominated for one of Mobile Marketing Magazine’s Effective Mobile Marketing Awards of 2014, under the category for Most Effective Use Of Video. Malibu made a number of smart moves in this campaign, including:

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

A multifaceted video approach:

Rather than just offering one video, users were presented with three video options to view.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Provided interesting content:

The videos weren’t hard advertising but instead were branded content that featured individuals giving suggestions for exciting ideas for summer activities.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Offered value:

One of the features of the campaign encouraged moderation by allowing users to track alcohol consumption and even find transportation based on their geolocation data.

This video campaign connected with Malibu’s audience, making it a near instant hit. Its content wasn’t just interesting, but personalized, allowing viewers to feel a more emotional connection. That emotional connection to content is a key part of an impactful video campaign, as a connection can create brand affinity. However, a simpler option for creating this could be incentivizing users to watch your video.

Video Advertising Statistic #3: Incentivizing Users with Rewarded Video

If you want to get a consumer to watch a video, one of the best ways to do it is to incentivize it. Rewarded video—modified video ads designed around an in-app economy, which grants users premium content such as coins or credits in return for viewing a short video clip—is among the most popular forms of advertising with consumers. 46% of consumers identified rewarded video as their preferred method of mobile video advertising. Here are a few examples of rewarded video in action.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Paywall bypasses:

This probably isn’t the most popular version of rewarded video, but online publications frequently use video advertisements as paywalls to their sites, in that users must watch the video before they can continue on to the content.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Shopping app rewards:

While shopping apps typically offer rewards based on purchases, some provide alternative reward-earning methods as well. One such way is through in-app advertisements, which allow users to collect rewards simply for watching videos. Shopkick offers this as a popular feature, allowing users to collect valuable rewards points just for watching videos.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

In-game advertisements:

Rewarded video is hugely popular on gaming platforms, where someone playing a mobile game is offered in-game incentives like bonuses, extra lives, and score boosters for watching a short video.

Rewarded video doesn’t just improve the likelihood that users will watch your advertisements all the way to the end, it also increases app retention. One study found that apps offering rewarded video had retention rates that were 71% higher after two weeks than non-rewarded video ad apps after the same period. It’s the consumer’s ability to interact with the ad that drives this high retention, as consumers find interacting with ads particularly engaging.

Video Advertising Statistic #4: Interactive Mobile Video Content

Interactive mobile video ads are an extremely new form of advertising that is just starting to catch on. In them, the user might be allowed to interact with the advertiser’s story, making choices and potentially changing the outcome of the ad based on those choices.

Buffalo Wild Wings did something like this in their interactive video campaign featuring the chain’s “Foodoo” doll. During the advertisement, the Foodoo doll would pop up, and users tried to catch it by tapping on their screens. Once they caught the doll, they could either find local restaurants or join the restaurant’s loyalty program. Following the campaign, the company reported 46 million interactions with a 93.4% video completion rate. The brand’s interactive campaign used video effectively by:

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Encouraging active viewing:

To catch the Foodoo doll, users had to watch the video. As a result, users were more likely to retain the brand’s message and go on to make purchases.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Building on a multimedia platform:

The campaign wasn’t a standalone. Instead, it was a takeoff of the brand’s March Madness television commercial, which featured the same Foodoo doll.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Focused ad targeting:

The brand set narrow parameters for the ad, based on past app usage as well as user location, interest in sports, gender, and age. This allowed them to deeply target individuals who were more likely to make a purchase.

Interactive video is still an emerging platform, which is why brands that choose to work with these platforms are more likely to stand out. This interaction is a way to make video even more engaging than it already is, deepening the consumer connection and the potential for conversion.

Video Advertising Statistic #5: Mobile Makes the Difference in Conversion

Mobile video advertising is, above all, about the user experience. Providing content that’s useful, engaging, and enjoyable will allow you to harness the power of video. Marketers who use video are estimated to grow revenue for their brands 49% faster than their non-video counterparts. Mobile is a powerful medium, with the majority of watchers choosing this as the place to view those videos. There’s a number of reasons why mobile video is a more powerful converter than other mediums. Some to consider are:

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Impact:

People are visual. The human brain processes visuals 10,000 times faster than it does text. As a result, someone who watches a video is likely to retain the information longer than someone who reads the same information. Specifically, a video viewer will retain 95% of what they saw, while a text reader will only retain about 10%.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Ease of use:

Video is probably the easiest medium to use on mobile. There’s no need to scroll or search through the information; the entire video is visible at the center of the screen with no need to click around. It’s also convenient for the user, who may be watching that video while browsing the offers in the shopping aisle or while sitting in their doctor’s waiting room.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Popularity:

Video is, by far, the most popular medium. Individuals spend 88% more time on a website when it has video. In addition, video is now responsible for the majority of Internet traffic. Any good marketer knows the first step of a good campaign is to be where your customers are. Your customers are watching videos.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Passive and active opportunities:

While your preference should always be to have an active viewer, individuals can still retain things on a subliminal level when passively viewing video. The same can’t be said for images and text—unless that viewer passively sees those same images and texts hundreds of times, as in the case of logos or slogans. A consumer can watch a video without paying attention to it and still retain some of the information from it, making it useful even when the consumer isn’t fully engaged with your message. Videos essentially do, in one shot, what it takes texts and pictures thousands of opportunities to accomplish.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Emotional connections:

Tone can tell us a lot about how we’re supposed to feel about a video. The attitude of the presenter or announcer, combined with the moving images, can be used to express emotions without words. Text- and image-based advertisements lack a powerful emotional connection, as it’s not possible to set the tone through a static image. Instead, viewers will attribute their own tone to the advertisement, which won’t always work the way you hope, especially when using humor or sarcasm in an ad.

Mobile video allows you to travel with consumers while providing the content they want the most. Whether you’re creating a direct ad or branded content, this is a proven way to connect with audiences, improve sales, and, potentially, increase market share.

The video advertising statistics of 2018 give us valuable insight on what consumers want. They want mobile content that’s interactive, engaging, and even incentivized. While the length of video is important, what’s more important is how well consumers connect with your message. By giving something in return for watching that video—whether it’s rewards points or even just information—those consumers are better able to connect with your brand. They’re engaged and more willing to share your message with their friends and families. Mobile video is a way to create both a physical and emotional connection with your brand’s audience.

Shopkick leverages rewarded video for our partners with great success with our engaged, active audience. To become one of those partners, contact us.

The coolest money making apps for iPhones

Posted on by shopkick

I’ve loved apps since I got my first iPhone in 2007. Back then, there was that slogan I’m sure you remember—there’s an app for that—and there really was. There were apps that could do everything from working like a flashlight to letting you check your bank account no matter where are you are. There was even one I used at parties that made my phone look like a beer I was drinking.

best money making apps for iPhoneLately, apps have evolved beyond the fun and cool factor to necessity and now there’s a whole group of money making apps for iPhone. You don’t have to write code or design your own apps, you just make money using your phone to do simple things, like watch ads, take surveys—or shop. Seriously, you just going shopping like you normally would, and these apps actually pay you cash money!

Of course, to make as much money as possible with these apps, you have to get into a pattern of using them regularly. Luckily, this is way, way easy with the coolest apps. That’s why today I want to help you pick some of the coolest money making apps for iPhones!

Money Making Apps for iPhone: Get Paid to Take Surveys

Just as I still remember how much I loved apps when I got my first iPhone, I also remember the first money making apps for iPhone I ever downloaded. All of them were survey apps.

There are a lot of these to choose among, but they all generally work the same way. Basically, you download the app, enter some information about yourself, and the app begins sending you surveys to take, which you get paid for! In my experience, the very longest surveys take just 15 to 20 minutes, but those pay the most. In general, you can also expect most survey apps for iPhone to pay roughly $1 each, with the longer ones paying more.

Money Making Apps for iPhone: Get Paid to Watch Ads

One of my all-time favorite apps is Fandango. I’ve always been a big movie guy, and it’s amazing to me that we can now instantly buy movie tickets with our phones. Oh, and we can also use it to watch the latest trailers. Very cool.

What’s even cooler is that there are some apps that pay you to watch trailers and short ads. Basically, with these, you watch a quick 30-second clip and generally earn about $.50. In my experience this adds up quickly—and sometimes the trailers and ads are pretty interesting. It’s always a little bonus when you get paid to watch one that you wouldn’t have minded watching anyway!

Money Making Apps for iPhone: Get Paid to Shop

I’ve talked about this before, but I’m the type of shopper who gets in and out of a store as fast as possible. It’s not that I hate shopping, it’s just that I have about a million other things on my mind, like work and stuff that needs to get done around the house—and fantasy football, of course. Shopping feels like an obstacle between me my priorities (ahem, fantasy football). I can tell you, though, I like shopping a whole lot more now that I’ve discovered I can make money shopping using free iPhone apps.

There are a lot of these to pick from, but I have one I think is the coolest: My favorite is called Shopkick, and it’s great, in my opinion, because of how it works. Basically, you get paid for just walking into a store and buying things.

Not only is Shopkick super easy to use, it also gives you way more points than most of the other money making apps for iPhone that I’ve tried.

Not only is Shopkick super easy to use, it also gives you way more points than most of the other money making apps for iPhone that I’ve tried. With Shopkick, the points you get can easily and quickly pay out in gift cards to your favorite stores, so you can get new electronics at Best Buy, for example, or that coffee fix from Starbucks on the way to work. Plus, Shopkick gives you points for stuff like scanning barcodes on certain items, watching product videos, and even shopping online. It has everything I’m looking for in a money making app: It’s easy to use, generous with points, and actually fun because it turns trips to the store into scavenger hunts!

Another thing that makes a lot of these apps so cool is that they can also be used for Android, too. I’ve always been an iPhone guy myself, but it’s nice that my Android friends can also get in on some of this action.

So those are all my favorite money making apps for iPhones. My last piece of advice is to get out there and start using these right away. And, if you have any cool money making apps of your own, be sure to let me know about them! I think that’s one of the things that made apps so popular in the early days: savvy users like us sharing and comparing notes. So, let’s do it!

Ready to get in on some of the coolest shopping apps for iPhone and Android? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with us!

And, if you love using your smartphone to stay up on social media, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy Rawf8

Popular stores with customer loyalty programs you didn’t know about

Posted on by shopkick

I’ve never enjoyed working out. At least not going to the gym or using a treadmill or lifting weights. I do, however, like fitness classes. That’s why my two favorite types of exercise classes are definitely yoga and spin, and I love how different they are. Yoga is all about slowing down, focusing on breathing, and balance, while spin is super intense. It’s just go, go, go!

Shopping can be this way, too. There’s your hurried shopping when you just need to get in, get out, and get home. Then, there’s the kind of shopping where you slow down, relax and enjstores with customer loyalty programsoy the hunt. While I could never pick a favorite between yoga and spin class, I can easily say my favorite shopping is the slower variety, especially when it means I get to make the most of it at stores with customer loyalty programs. For years, I was power shopping—and trying to find discounts and sales in a hurry—and in the process missing out on the real savings built-in to customer loyalty programs. That’s why today I’m here to help you slow down, breathe like you’re doing yoga, and learn more about some popular stores with customer loyalty programs (that you’ve likely been shopping at for years) and how they can save you money.

Grocery Stores with Customer Loyalty Programs

Of all the stores I’ve power shopped over the years, grocery stores are where I rush the most. In fact, I’ve even found myself heading home from yoga, feeling super at peace and relaxed, and still rushing through the grocery aisles.

That can be a problem, though, because there are tons and tons of grocery stores with customer loyalty programs. Most feature a grocery store rewards cards which you swipe at checkout and lowers your bill. If you’re not using these, you’re leaving money on the table.

There are also some larger chain grocery stores that have loyalty programs that are a bit less well known, especially if you’re always rushing through the aisles. The Walmart Savings Catcher, for example, helps loyal Walmart shoppers ensure they’re always getting the lowest possible price. With this program, you just scan your Walmart receipt after a visit, and it compares what you paid to the prices at top competitors in the area. If there’s a difference, the program rewards it back to you.

That’s just one example, though. Target, as well as regional grocery stores such as Safeway and H-E-B, also offer similar loyalty rewards. It’s just up to you to take the time to slow down and ask. Oh, and there are also ways to use third-party shopping apps to get paid to grocery shop, but more on that later!

Department Stores with Customer Loyalty Programs

It’s way easier for me to take it slow with my shopping at department stores, kind of like how it’s way easier to relax with the yoga instructor at my studio that doesn’t make us do as many of the one-legged flying poses! The wide selection and the great deals at stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s just lend themselves to a nice, leisurely stroll through the racks.

While the details vary by store, all the most common department stores, including Sears, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Saks have their own variation of a customer loyalty program. Macy’s, for example, has a program that basically ensures you get a discount on everything you buy there, while Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack have one that gives you a gift card after you spend a certain amount. That one is also nice because it entitles you to free tailoring!

They, of course, don’t publicize them as well as the grocery stores do, but that’s okay. Because if you’ve learned anything from me today, it’s that the next time you’re out shopping, you’re going to take your time, breath like you’re in yoga, and ask the clerks at the stores about customer loyalty programs so you don’t miss out!

DIY Customer Loyalty Programs

These programs at department stores and grocery stores are all well and good, and you should definitely be using them to get deals and save money, but there’s one method I think is a cut above all the rest: making your own customer loyalty program.

It sounds impossible, I know, but you can actually do it by using an app that makes you money while you shop. There are many of these types of apps to choose from, believe it or not, and they tend to work at most (if not all) of my favorite stores. How they work is simple: they give you points for shopping activities you do anyway (think scanning barcodes for more info or buying certain products) which you trade for gift cards you can use on your next visit.

One of the best parts is that you can actually combine these apps with the other store loyalty programs

There’s seriously no better loyalty program than that. One of the best parts is that you can actually combine these apps with the other store loyalty programs I just told you about. My personal favorite is an app called Shopkick, which I like because it gives you the most opportunities to win points. In fact, with Shopkick, you get points just for walking into the store! Plus, it has a really fun social media community if you’re into Instagram of Facebook (and, these days, who isn’t?).

So, there you have it, a great list of stores with customer loyalty programs, plus a great way to augment those programs by also using one of my very favorite shopping apps. That combination approach really is key, much like the focus of my exercise routine is doing both spin class and yoga. Sure, I could stick to just one, but the benefits are even greater when I do both!

Learn how you can start getting paid to grocery shop before your next trip down the aisle. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun, Shopkicker!

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping fun.

Image courtesy pressmaster

The best apps for shopping deals that are fun to use

Posted on by shopkick

As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m the mother of three beautiful (and rambunctious) boys, and I do my best to teach them all that I can. Sometimes, though, my boys also teach me lessons.

Recently,best shopping apps for deals for example, they reminded me of something I’d forgotten about as a busy adult: the importance of having fun! While sometimes it doesn’t seem like my boys can keep their attention on any one thing for more than a few minutes, when it comes playing, they can spend hours at it and not even blink!

Fun is important when it comes to sustaining interest, and I think we as adults don’t remember just how time can fly by when you’re engaged in something that’s actually fun. This, in my opinion, is a great lesson when it comes to figuring out the best apps for shopping deals. After all, you can get paid to shop with certain apps, but in order for that to happen, you have to actually use these apps. The more you use these apps, the more you can get paid, and the more fun you have when you’re using the apps, the more you’ll want to use them! So basically, more fun equals more money…and I think we can all get excited about that! That’s why today I want to talk about the best apps for shopping deals, as well as some of the top features you should look for when picking an app that’s actually going to be fun!

Fun Factor No. 1: The Best Apps for Shopping Deals Let You Earn Points

I swear, my boys can turn everything they do into some kind of competition. A storm recently knocked down a big tree branch in our backyard, and they spent an entire afternoon playing a game where they awarded each other points for jumping over it. This sounds silly, but it’s actually a great lesson for us.

There are a few different ways that shopping apps work—some give a discount at the register, others give you percentages off certain products—but in my experience, the best apps for shopping deals are the ones that award you points. That’s because you use those points however you choose. And, the ones that are the most fun of all give you points for completing different activities in the store and for shopping online at home, which turns your whole shopping experience into a game!

In my experience, the best apps for shopping deals are the ones that award you points.

Actually, the way my favorite works is that it turns each trip into a scavenger hunt for those points. I get points for going into certain stores, points for scanning barcodes to learn more about certain items, and, of course, points for making my purchases. I’m at the point now where I actually look forward to going out for groceries, clothes, or toiletries. It’s seriously that fun.

Fun Factor No. 2: The Best Apps for Shopping Deals Offer You Gift Cards

Birthdays and Christmas gifts are a source of all kinds of excitement for kids, and while we as adults don’t generally get as excited about gifts, there’s still something nice about getting a gift card. Well, in my opinion, the best apps for shopping deals are the ones that let you earn gift cards.

Those points we talked about in the last section are all well and good, but in order for you to really save money and get the most out of those shopping apps, you have to be able to trade those points in. I think it’s a lot of fun to earn gift cards to all your favorite stores, so you can give yourself a little Starbucks spontaneously as a treat for shopping. It’s fun to get paid in gift cards!

Fun Factor No. 3: The Best Apps for Shopping Deals Give Great Social Media

Another way my boys have fun is by sharing goofy memes and gifs with their friends on social media. And you know what? This is actually a way that I have fun, too. I just can’t get enough of the goofy jokes online.

I think that’s why it’s no coincidence that the shopping app I use the most is also the one that has the best and most active social media community. My personal favorite shopping app is called Shopkick, and it has one of the most fun social media channels on the Internet. I’ve shared so many laughs on their Facebook page, as well as practical shopping tips for using the app. The best apps for shopping deals seamlessly blend in fun, so you actually want to use them again and again, without having to force yourself to remember.

The best apps for shopping deals seamlessly blend in fun

Much like nobody has to remind my boys to play their Nintendo Switch, nobody has to remind me to use Shopkick when I go out to the store. I look forward to it because of all the factors we mentioned today.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been having fun using Shopkick and not even realized that I earned tons of points I could redeem for gift cards. I just look at my total points—or as the app calls them: kicks—and I often have way more than I thought. How fun is that!  

Ready to have some fun using one of the best apps for shopping deals? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with us—and how fun trips to the store can be!

And, if you love using your smartphone to stay up on social media, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy mimagephotography

The best retail coupon apps for shoppers in 2018

Posted on by shopkick

The best retail coupon apps for shoppers in 2018

I can still remember the day, or maybe it was a night, that I swore off paper coupons. It was Thanksgiving a few years back, and I had the usual mound of flyers full of crazy Black Friday deals that my family was about to go chase spread all over my kitchen table. I had just wiped everything down and cleaned up following another exhausting Thanksgiving dinner marathon.

I was sitting out there with a cup of chamomile tea, clipping out coupon after coupon and stacking them up, when tragedy struck: my boys came running through and the wind from their chase blew my stack of thin paper coupons all over the floor. Right then and there I decided I’d had enough. And you know what? I’ve never looked back.

It’s not that I quit using coupons all together, it’s just that I started using the best retail coupon apps instead. These are, of course, operated entirely from my phone or other devices, which means even my boys can’t create enough chaos to disrupt them! I absolutely love using these apps, but more than that, I love the money they save me. Honestly, the best retail coupon apps these days save me even more money than my old paper coupons ever did.

Now, if you’re not familiar with the concept, let me explain how shopping apps work. Then I’ll give you a list of the best retail coupon apps and their top qualities—plus some examples you can download and use. How it works is simple, and even a little familiar for old coupon clippers like me. With the best retail coupon apps, you go to certain stores…and you earn points. You scan the barcodes of certain products…and you earn points. You buy certain products and snap a picture of your receipt…and—that’s right—you earn points! And then you trade those points in for cash or gift cards to your favorite stores.

See? Easy. There you have it, now you’re an expert. Now, without further delay, let’s look at the features of the best retail coupon apps.

Common Qualities of the Best Retail Coupon Apps

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Free:

Simply put, all the best retail coupon apps are free to download. You want one of the best free smartphone apps that pay you, not an app you have to pay to use! I mean, it’s a basic truth of consumerism: you shouldn’t have to pay to save money. The point of these apps is that you get a reward. Did you have to pay for paper coupons back in the day? No! They came unsolicited or via ads in the newspaper.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Available for Android and iPhone:

Some apps only work with iPhones, and some only work with Android. In my humble opinion, you want one that works with both. Why? Well, a few months back I made the jump from a Samsung phone to an iPhone, and guess what? Some of my apps couldn’t come with me. Luckily, the best retail coupon apps I know are available on both operating systems!

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Offers Opportunities to Earn Points in Many Ways:

Shopping is about more than just buying objects; it’s about going into the store, browsing the aisles, and learning about the items on your list so that you can make an educated decision at checkout. That’s why I firmly believe that the best retail coupon apps should give you points for more than just buying things. My favorite apps also give you points for scanning the barcodes of certain items, too. And, the absolute best apps even reward you just for walking into a store. It doesn’t get much better than that!

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Rewards Points for Shopping Online:

Let’s face it, shopping has changed. It used to be that in order to buy the things you needed—clothes, laptops, music, food, and toiletries—you had to get up and leave your house. Well, as I think we all know, those days have ended. Now, you can buy practically anything online and have it dropped off at your door, sometimes that very same day! If you don’t find a coupon app that lets you easily earn money shopping online, you’re cheating yourself. The best retail coupon apps also reward you for online shopping, giving points for things such as visiting online stores, viewing select products, watching certain videos and, of course, making purchases. Make sure you get one of those.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Features a Vibrant Social Media Community:

Shopping isn’t the only thing that has migrated online in recent years. If you’re anything like me, you like to do a good deal of your socializing online. That time you spend on Instagram or Facebook can be put to good use thanks to my favorite retail coupon apps, because the best of the bunch offers a fun and vibrant online community where you can swap tips about how to use the app better to collect even more points. What do points add up to? Savings! Really, these feeds should feel like a party, where you’re not only sharing tips but also dishing about jokes and other details of your life. That way you’ll come back again and again!

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Features_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Is Tons of Fun:

This last item might seem superfluous, but in my opinion, it’s actually the most important. Yes, the best retail coupon apps are all fun. Why is that so vital? Because when an app is fun to use, you’re actually going to want to use it, and the more you use a retail coupon app, the more points you get, and the better it ultimately is for your budget. Ideally, a coupon app will turn every trip to the store into a fun scavenger hunt for points. It’ll push you to top your previous scores and to find and choose those products that will boost your point total. You won’t have to remember to use it at the store. No, you’ll find yourself looking forward to it!

The Best Retail Coupon Apps to Download Now

Even though you’re now an expert on what qualities to look for in the best retail coupon apps, I’m not going to send you hunting for shopping apps on your own just yet—not without giving you a list of some of my personal favorites anyway. These apps all possess some, if not all, of the qualities I mentioned and are a great place to start when it comes to finally replacing your old system of cutting and clipping paper coupons.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Ebates:

Ebates is free and it has a user-friendly design. The way this app works is that it gives you a certain amount of money back on the purchases that you make online, like 6% cash back at Macy’s or 3% cash back for certain categories on Amazon (warning: you might have to do some math!). One of my favorite things about Ebates is how fast you get your earnings. In fact, Ebates uses PayPal to give you money back within 48 hours. I know, super fast! Or, you can get your earnings back each quarter in the form of a paper check. It’s your choice with Ebates. One other thing that helps Ebates stand out is its seasonal pages, which list the best deals for two of my favorite days of the year: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. These pages are great sources for some of the best shopping deals offered online!

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

SavingStar:

SavingStar is a digital coupon app that pays users to shop at grocery and drugstores. More than 60,000 stores are part of SavingStar; they represent more than 100 retail chains. It’s generally free to use but beware: If an account is inactive for 180 straight days, they will charge a fee of $3.99. So, while it’s generally in line with our don’t-pay-for-an-app rule, the potential for it to cost you does exist. To take advantage of SavingStar, users either link their existing store loyalty cards to the app or submit receipts after they make purchases. The savings add up until users can eventually cash out through PayPal, Upromise, or in the form of Starbucks, iTunes, or AMC Theater gift codes. It is available for both Android and iPhone, but it doesn’t offer as many chances to win points as some of the other entries on our list.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

SnipSnap:

This is another mobile coupon app, like SavingStar, but here users take pictures of printed coupons, which are then transformed into digital, mobile-ready coupons. That’s pretty fun. Users can also browse online directories and take advantage of coupons their friends have “snipped” as well. This one doesn’t exactly pay, although it is entirely free to use (nice!). Instead, users save money like a traditional coupon. The idea is that coupons can all be kept in one digital space, instead of some overflowing billfold. So, instead of accruing savings or earning points to trade in later, SnipSnap helps you save at the register.

[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget]

Shopkick:

Shopkick is my favorite shopping rewards app—and it’s the only one on our list that embodies all six of the qualities we’re looking for in an app. It’s free, available for both iPhone and Android, filled with opportunities to earn points, and is eligible to be used online. It also has a social media network that I am 100 percent absolutely addicted to, and it’s so much fun that even my kids and husband have downloaded it! The app gives users points, called kicks, for doing things they’d be doing anyway, like making purchases, scanning barcodes, and even just walking into their favorite stores. How it works is incredibly simple and fun, too. Basically, it turns shopping into an actual game, like a scavenger hunt. And it’s really social. They keep a great community vibe on their social media, and users get awarded kicks when friends they refer sign up. Users trade in kicks to get paid in gift cards to stores they love to shop at—or for splurges, like a Starbucks treat. Shopkick is great for any and all budget-minded shoppers, whether they are looking for ways to spice up their time cruising the aisles or replace that outdated coupon habit.

So there you have it, my definitive list of retail shopping apps for iPhone and Android to bring in the savings.

But before I go, I do have one last piece of advice: hold on to that memory of the last time you were up late clipping coupons or had to dig through your purse for a coupon at checkout, or lost one you’d been saving forever. With these new apps, you won’t be experiencing any of that anymore. The new normal, in terms of the best retail coupon apps that pay you money, is that they work through your phone, which I’m sure you have with you when you go shopping anyway. The savings are bigger, the trips to the store are a lot of fun, and, maybe most importantly, it is just so much easier to stay organized!

Get one of the best retail coupon apps that pay you money in 2018. Download Shopkick’s free app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with a free, smartphone app sidekick.

And, if you love social media as much as you love your smartphone, join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily shopping inspiration.

The rewards program best practices that inspire customer engagement

Posted on by shopkick

The rewards program best practices that inspire customer engagement

There is no shortage of rewards programs available to customers in 2018; nearly every major retailer and brand has a rewards program in one form or another. However, the effectiveness of individual rewards programs varies when it comes to generating customer engagement.

While the vast majority of consumers, up to 75%, are more willing to shop with a brand that has a loyalty program, most of those consumers actively participate in very few of them on a consistent basis. While rewards may help incentivize a one-time buy, regular and recurring spending attributable to a rewards program is significantly harder to achieve. The brands that succeed at this marketing strategy are the ones that develop and follow a set of engaging rewards program best practices.

Best practices in a rewards program should attract consumers who will engage with your company or your brand; reward programs should not be used as one-time purchase drivers. Engaged and loyal consumers spend more money and spend more frequently. It’s no surprise, then, that about one-third of marketers use these programs specifically to drive engagement. If driving engagement is your primary goal, these five rewards program best practices must be included in your strategy as well.

Rewards Program Best Practice #1: Rewards Must Be Mobile

Consumers do not want to carry around a physical card in order to participate in a rewards programs. More than 70% of consumers are more likely to take part in a loyalty program if it’s on their phone. Choosing to implement a mobile-based rewards program, then, is one of the best practices suggested in order to gain an engaged customer base. Mobile rewards programs:

Appeal to younger generations:

About one-third of millennials report that they don’t like rewards programs because of the cards they must carry with them. Using a mobile option eliminates this complaint.

Stay on top of market trends:

Most companies are doing away with card programs, instead choosing to use smartphone-based approaches. It’s anticipated that three billion loyalty cards will be mobile only by 2020.

Encourage frequent use:

The top two reasons why a consumer won’t use a loyalty program they’re a member of is (1) they don’t have their card on them at time of purchase or (2) they don’t remember they’re a member of the program. Both issues can be resolved via a mobile program thanks to the convenience and visibility of apps.

Consumers want mobile programs. They encourage use, appeal to prime segments of shoppers, and keep retailers and brands on trend in the digital age. This best practice for rewards programs is truly a must, not a suggestion, in order to build an engaged user base for your program.

Rewards Program Best Practice #2: Make it Free, Ditch the Fee

A free vs. fee-based rewards program is often a major consideration for companies launching a new customer rewards program. While free might drive high adoption rates, fee-based programs may be more likely to attract consumers who are truly dedicated to the brand or retailer. Additionally, a fee-based program can act as a revenue stream. Despite those on-paper benefits to the retailer or brand, however, free is best if your goal is customer engagement. We can explore why via this brief study of the most popular app-based rewards program in the US, My Starbucks Rewards.

Starbucks initially launched their rewards program in 2001 in the form of Starbucks Gold. For $25 a year, customers received 10% off each coffee order. This program never really caught on, however, and the company eventually decided to shutter it. In 2012, they launched a new free, phone-based program called My Starbucks Rewards.  In the first year alone, the number of rewards members doubled compared to the previous program. That momentum has continued and the program is now one of the most downloaded brand-based apps in the world.

The company would not have seen this kind of wide-spread engagement had they continued with their fee-based version of the program. They were able to revive a failing rewards program model by:

Going mobile:

Starbucks went from a card-based program to a mobile-based rewards system, which was a significant motivator for adoption.

Eliminating the cost:

While $25 might not seem like a lot of money for a yearly membership, for consumers who did the math it wasn’t much of a benefit. With a 10% discount, the customer would have had to order more than 50 coffees to break even.

Adding exclusive deals and discounts:

Instead of making consumers pay for Gold status, they can now earn it. After a consumer amasses a certain number of rewards points, they’re automatically upgraded to Gold status, giving them access to exclusive discounts and additional points.

Rewards programs don’t often work as an engagement driver for new customers if they’re fee-based; that’s something that only already loyal customers are willing to pay for as they may shop or buy more frequently. As a best practice, the only thing your customer should have to invest in the rewards program is time.

Rewards Program Best Practice #3: Offer Opportunities to Earn Without Spending

Most rewards programs are dependent on the consumer making a purchase in order to see any benefits.  However, if your goal for the program is engagement, you should offer opportunities to earn points that aren’t purchase driven. Here are a few ways to do this:

Check-ins:

This can be a great option for retailers and QSRs alike. Allow your customers to earn rewards points just for entering your location. This is a benefit that doesn’t cost them anything but encourages them to visit your establishment. This increases interaction with your company while also increasing the likelihood that the customer will make a purchase.

Item scanning:

Another good tool, which can be used by CPG brands as well, is to offer rewards points for scanning product barcodes. This encourages the customer to seek out your products in store, like a digital scavenger hunt, familiarizing them with your products and their benefits.

Leverage referrals:

A time-tested method for increasing engagement is incentivizing your current customers to give you referrals. Offer customers the opportunity to gain rewards points for sharing your program with friends. This increases engagement with, as well as adoption of, your program.

Offering consumers a way to gain rewards without having to make a purchase encourages them to interact with your rewards program and, by extension, your company. It helps them find your locations and products, which can often naturally lead to sales. While the overall goal of any company should and must be sales, a best practice for a successful rewards program should be to start with activities that engagement, first and foremost.

Rewards Program Best Practice #4: Differentiate Discounts from Points

When designing your rewards program, avoid creating a transactional relationship with consumers. A transactional relationship is one where the customer is focused solely on an immediate, typically monetary-based, benefit driven by discounts; engaging them will be nearly impossible unless you consistently offer a lower price than your competitors.

It is important to recognize that discounts and deals are powerful motivators in gaining the attention of consumers; however, consider sectioning off discounts and special offers into their own unique space within the rewards program app.

Nike is a company that uses this strategy very well. The brand offers a rewards points program that includes a specific section for listing current deals and events. By dividing their app into two sections, rewards and discounts, they’re able to cater to multiple groups of consumers without having to create several campaigns on separate platforms.

Rewards Program Best Practice #5: Host Exclusive Benefit Events

One way to get a surge in adoption to your rewards program is to host an exclusive benefit event that encourages individuals to sign up for and engage with your program. Some options include offering higher point values or more opportunities to earn for a brief period of time. This leverages the idea of scarcity as once the extra benefit period is closed, it will be a lost opportunity.

Amazon capitalized on this exceptionally well with its Prime Day event, which it started three years ago. For one day a year, members of Amazon Prime were given access to exclusive offers and rewards. The company reported that they saw a 60% surge in sales during the most recent Prime Day event, which surpassed their sales from Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the previous year. The company also reported that more individuals joined Amazon Prime that day than on any other day in the history of the program. The company was able to achieve this level of engagement because they:

Capitalized on exclusivity:

Only members of Amazon Prime can participate in Prime Day, which drove many individuals to sign up for the service simply for the sake of participating in a single event.

Leveraged scarcity:

Prime Day is exactly what it says it is: one day.  As the window to take part is so limited, customers are more likely to participate as they know it is a now-or-never scenario.

Timed it right:

One reason why Prime Day is so successful is that it occurs in mid-July when few other sales events are occurring. As they created a niche for the event, Amazon doesn’t have to compete with other major retailers as they do on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, for example.

While Amazon’s Prime Day is a fee-based service, it’s still worth reviewing their methods to see how a rewards program-based event can increase sales and membership numbers. Events are a great way to engage consumers with your brand while also improving overall sales, making them a best practice when implementing a rewards program.

Follow Best Practices for Rewards Programs by Partnering with Third-Party Shopping Apps

Shopping apps improve customer engagement as they combine all the best practices while also exposing your brand or company to a new target audience. As these apps are designed to be used while a consumer is in the seemingly endless shopping aisle, you can gain greater engagement by communicating with the consumer as they’re shopping.

Partnering with a third-party app gives you the ability to leverage a mobile platform, focus on rewards over discounts, and offer multiple ways to earn and engage. They also allow you to bypass the process of adoption as they come with a built-in user base; you don’t have to spend your marketing budget developing your own proprietary app. If you’re looking for a way to easily implement the rewards program best practices outlined above, a third-party shopping app may be the best—and simplest—solution for both your company and your customers.

Shopkick offers our partners the opportunity to be featured on an engaging shopping rewards app that connects with consumers while they’re on the go. To learn more about how to partner with Shopkick, contact our team today.  

Apps to get free gift cards: A genius New Year budget booster

Posted on by shopkick

New Year’s Eve is my favorite holiday. I just absolutely love it. The reason is twofold: 1) I’m a well-known party aficionado and there’s no better night for a good party and 2) the next day is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.

use shopping apps to get free gift cardsA fresh start on what, you might ask? Well, on whatever you can think of! As usual, this year I have a few resolutions. You know, all the regulars like hitting the gym more often, taking more time for myself, starting a new hobby, and, of course, saving more money. What’s a little different this year, though, is how I’m planning to turn that resolution into a reality. My plan is to use shopping apps to get free gift cards. Go ahead, say wow. I know, I had to take a moment when I first learned that I could get paid to shop. You just go shopping, do the tasks or activities the apps award points for, and then trade your points in for gift cards!

So, how does this boost my 2018 budget? Well, as I see it, I have to shop for things like groceries anyway. So, basically, I use my shopping apps when I hit the supermarket, then I get rewarded in gift cards for my purchases, and then I use those gift cards to buy myself something nice. (Ok, I use them to buy something I was going to buy anyway, like my Starbucks fave, a flat white.) But instead of doling out cash for my coffee, I get it for free. All because I bought my daily groceries.

I use my shopping apps when I hit the supermarket, then I get rewarded in gift cards for my purchases, and then I use those gift cards to buy myself something nice.

Still, my New Year’s resolution is a little more complex than just “use shopping apps.” I want to use shopping apps to get free gift cards more often than last year. (And spend less on things I was going to buy anyway.) So, I came up with a plan to help me make that goal, like sharing my successes and keeping myself accountable because, obviously, the more we use these apps, the more gift cards we can earn! So, buckle up, I’m going to share all three parts of my newest New Year’s resolution with you.

Resolution No. 1: Get Social When Using Apps to Get Free Gift Cards

In my experience, the key to getting the biggest possible boost to your budget by using apps to get free gift cards is making sure that you actually have fun when you’re using those apps. The more fun they are, the more you use them. If you aren’t excited to use these shopping apps, you might even quit them altogether.

You know what makes things more fun? Doing them with your friends! That’s why I tell all my ladies about my favorite shopping rewards app. Sometimes, this results in us hitting the aisles together; other times we’ll just get together to swap store stories (kind of like war stories, but about shopping). Sometimes, it even means trading shopping tips via Facebook or Instagram with friends who are far away. It actually doesn’t matter exactly how you’re being social while you’re using one of these shopping apps, it just matters that you’re having fun doing it. Best of all, some of the best shopping rewards apps give you extra points when friends sign up!

Resolution No. 2: Use My Apps to Get Free Gift Cards When Shopping Online

When it comes to my favorite tech trends, having a shopping app to get free gift cards is second only to being able to buy anything I want online. I mean, where I live we recently had a major snowstorm, and when I noticed we were low on dishwasher pods it was Amazon to the rescue.

That’s why it’s important to make sure my shopping app works for online purchases. Why? Because if I’m going to buy my dishwasher soap in the store and get points for it, then I also want to be able to get those points if I buy dishwasher pods online. Just because so much of my shopping has moved to the web—hello kitty litter and toilet paper via delivery—doesn’t mean I should sacrifice rewards points. Otherwise, I’d be missing out on a big chunk of free gift cards!

Resolution No. 3: Use Apps to Get Free Gift Cards, Then Share My Success

On top of always wanting to boost my budget and save more money during the New Year, I’m also trying to go to the gym more. This year, I’m even trying some new fitness classes, like spin and hot yoga.

My favorite part is when I get home after a workout and my family asks how I’m doing, if I rode harder, if I held my poses longer, you name it. It’s a great way to keep myself accountable! So I thought, why have that excitement stop at the gym? Why not find a way to share my successes online with my shopping app as well? And you know what I found? My personal favorite shopping app has a thriving social media community where users share their success stories every day. I don’t know about you, but nothing makes me want to get back out there and use my shopping apps more than hearing about the successes others are having. And, of course, the more I use my apps, the more I save!

Making Resolutions Stick: The Best Shopping Apps to Get Free Gift Cards

Now what you probably want to know is what my favorite shopping rewards app is. Well, there are actually a few different shopping apps to get free gift cards to pick from, but to accomplish each of my three New Year’s resolutions, I think one stands out as working the best. I’m talking about Shopkick! It’s already been really easy to get all my ladies using this one, mostly because how it works is just so easy. In the simplest terms, with Shopkick you get points—called kicks—for walking into the store, for scanning certain products, and for snapping a pic of your receipt. You can then trade those points in for gift cards to all your favorite stores. See? Easy!

Also, every time one of my friends signs up and uses Shopkick, I get 250 free kicks! And, Shopkick gives you points for your online shopping, too, which is another reason it’s the perfect app to help me with my budget resolutions. You get kicks for visiting certain stores online, for viewing select products, and for making mobile purchases and watching certain videos. Again, suuuuper easy. Plus, because Shopkick has a really great online community through Facebook and other social media, there’s a great incentive to keep using it and also to make good on my third and final resolution: sharing my successes!

You get kicks for visiting certain stores online, for viewing select products, and for making mobile purchases and watching certain videos.

I hope this has all been helpful for you, and I hope you have a great New Year, filled with totally dominating each and every one of your own resolutions. And finally, I hope to see you soon on Shopkick’s Facebook page telling me and, the rest of the great crew there, about your many, many, many successes!

Learn how you can start taking action toward your own New Year’s resolution to boost your budget and save some money. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun!

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Twitter or Instagram for daily shopping fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy bernardbodo

Enjoy life to the fullest and earn kicks

Posted on by shopkick

The New Year is here, and so is the new you. You’ve committed to get fit, save more money, and clear out the clutter. With all that hard work, it’s time for a thoroughly enjoyable resolution: enjoy life to the fullest!

live life to the fullest with shopkick

Shopkicker Katie F. from Ogden, Utah uses Shopkick to help her spend more time with family and friends. Shopkicking friends, family members, and even couples plan Shopkicking dates to get kicks together.

Whether you want to see the world, spend more time with family and friends, or try your hand at a new hobby, we’ve got you covered.

Get off the beaten path

Check out our tips and top finds to help you achieve your travel, quality time, and hobby goals. Plus, get kicks while you’re at it!

1. Work on your travel bucket list

enjoy life travel

Traveling to new places isn’t just exciting (or relaxing, depending on your destination). Studies show that visiting a new locale not only gives you wonderful memories to last a lifetime, but can lengthen your perception of time, making your trip feel even longer. That same trip can help you think more creatively once you return home.

Make 2018 unforgettable and earn kicks when you cross each destination off your bucket list. Check out our guide to the top 10 travel destinations this year.

2. Find quality time on a dime

enjoy life at concerts shows games

Set aside time to have fun this year with the people who matter the most. Get tickets to your favorite band, see a show, or go to the game together to maximize quality time with loved ones.

Need some inspiration? Take a look at these suggestions from Seatgeek. As a bonus, you’ll earn kicks for every dollar you spend.

3. Train your brain

enjoy life with new hobbies

Have you always wanted to improve your culinary skills, hone your creativity, or pick up an instrument? Dive into new experiences by trying a new hobby or activity. Staying sharp in the New Year is even more rewarding with these 10 finds from Walmart.com that will earn you major kicks.

Stay the course

According to a Shopkick poll, 64% of respondents abandon their goals by spring. But never fear! You’re more likely to keep your resolutions if you have accountability partners. Share your resolutions with friends and fellow Shopkickers for additional encouragement. We’re all in this together!

Get started

Open the app to start earning gift cards and see how Shopkick can help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions to enjoy life to the fullest. Don’t have the app? Download it here to join the fun!

 

How to quickly earn rewards for shopping online

Posted on by shopkick

I love my kids, and it shows, which is why people are always asking how I find time to do things for myself. I tell them the key is speed! When you have three boys, like I do, you have to be fast to get them ready for school, to their soccer practices, and to their friends’ houses and back. It’s always run, run, run. I feed off my kids’ energy for speed cleaning, powering through workout videos, and shopping for groceries. Lately I’ve been applying my need for speed to other stuff, too—like getting rewarded for shopping online.

earn rewards for shopping online quickly

I’ve talked about this a lot recently, but I’m a huge devotee of free mobile shopping apps to make money for what you buy anyway. If you’re not familiar, how it works is easy: you do your normal shopping stuff—go to the store, scan barcodes of certain products to get more info, check out—and these apps give you points which you can then trade in for gift cards. There’s a huge list of free apps that give you gift cards to choose from, and the best apps can be used online, too.

It’s probably because of my go, go, go boys, but I’ve found that my favorite apps that give rewards for shopping online are the ones that give you rewards fast! (Maybe you didn’t know there were even different speeds to collect your rewards, but trust me there are.) That’s why I’m here today to help you learn more about how to quickly earn rewards for shopping online. So, let’s hurry up and get to it!

Time Frames for Rewards for Shopping Online

One holiday season, I took a hard look at my budget and decided we could use some extra breathing room. So, I got a part-time job in the mobile devices department at Best Buy. This was great because the extra money and the excellent employee discount meant that I got good deals on everything on my holiday shopping list. It was one of those win-win situations!

On the phones and tablets we sold, we basically had two types of rebates that helped customers save money. One let us take an instant discount at the register; the other—and this was a while back now—required customers to send in proof of purchase, then wait for a rebate check. Well, guess which one was more popular? That’s right, the one that got customers their money fast. No shocker.

My personal opinion is that’s how rewards for shopping online should work—the faster you can collect points, the better.

Here’s a list of the things I firmly believe should happen fast with the ideal app:

  • Learning to use it: You shouldn’t have to crack a code or be a tech genius to learn how to use the ideal shopping rewards app. It should be simple, intuitive, and a ton of fun!
  • Collecting points: The ideal app should start giving you points quickly during any trip to the store. The best apps give you points just for walking inside!
  • Payouts: Almost every one of these apps has a minimum award amount you have to accrue before you can cash out, ranging from $2 on the low end to $20 on the super high end. That’s an extreme example, and most of them are in the $5 to $10 range, but I personally prefer one that gives me the option to cash out ASAP because then I can do it quickly and on my schedule!

The Best App to Quickly Earn Rewards for Shopping Online

Which shopping app is the best, and quickest, in my humble opinion? For me, that would be Shopkick. Shopkick pays out in gift cards to all my favorite stores, including Amazon, Target, and Starbucks, and its minimum to cash out is only $2. That means I can get (another) Starbucks gift card to spend on my all-time guilty pleasure—the flat white—super fast, just the way I like it!

But Shopkick has tons of other things to love as well. It’s great because you can get points for shopping online and you can get cash back quickly on in-person receipts. They are always adding new products and stores, and it has one of the most active and fun social media presences anywhere. I’m always laughing at the fun jokes they put on there and sharing tips with other kickers (as we call ourselves) about ways to get rewards for shopping online even faster! It’s just so fun.

Speed is important, but so is making sure you’re up-to-date on the most effective apps for shopping online and off.

I’m glad I had a chance to slow down just a tiny bit today so that I could share all of this with you. Speed is important, but so is making sure you’re up-to-date on the most effective apps for shopping online and off. You really have to make sure you get an app that you love to use and that will give you your benefits quickly.

I don’t mean to end this briefly, but I think I hear one of the boys. I’m sure there’s a soccer game or a cub scout outing or a crisis in the backyard that needs my attention. And, if it hasn’t happened yet, it’s about to happen—fast.

Learn how you can earn big rewards and get them fast for shopping online. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun, Shopkicker!

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy Rawpixel.com.

The most popular free mobile shopping apps for earning rewards fast

Posted on by shopkick

I love love, love spin class. My preference is generally to go about three times a week but, trust me, I would go waaay more if I could find the time. In fact, I’d be there basically every day if it was practical!

This explains why I recently had a crisis when my favorite spin studio moved to the other side of town after someone bought the old building it was in and decided to turn it into condos. I didn’t want to change studios! I had my favorite instructors, my favorite ladies to ride with, my favorite times to go… I even had a favorite bike! Following my spin-sters to the new location would have added so much drive time that I probably would have started missing sessions. So, I did what we all do when it comes time to find a new anything—I took to Yelp and Google Reviews to find nearby spin classes, then chose the most popular one.

woman uses mobile shopping app in storeThe good news is, I’m really, truly happy at my new spot! The schedule is just as good as my old fave (maybe even better), the music is great and the sound system is fantastic, the instructors are intense but not too intense, and I’m even getting used to a new bike. The reviews also told me that this place is home to some of the friendliest riders around, and, guess what? They were right!

Of course, I miss my crew from my last spin studio, but I’m already making some great new friends here. I’m overall grateful I switched, and I’m super glad I could go online and easily find a place that other people in my community seemed to really like.

This is just one example from my own life of how I’ve recently discovered that popularity can be a good thing. There’s another one that I want to talk about today: retail shopping apps.

Retail shopping apps are incentive programs you use from your phone to get paid for the shopping you do already. I know, amazing right? Specifically, I want to get into which are the most popular free mobile shopping apps for earning rewards fast—maybe even as fast as I ride at my spin class! With that in mind, let’s take a look at what makes an app popular and why, starting with the features of my personal favorites.

Common Features of the Most Popular Mobile Shopping Apps

I admit that when Yelp, Google, and Amazon reviews first became a thing I was a little skeptical. I’ve always liked things that are just a bit outside of the mainstream and off the beaten path. What I quickly learned, though, is that even things outside the mainstream can score high in online reviews. To find them, you just had to know what qualities to search for. With restaurants, for instance, this meant looking out for adjectives like cozy, eclectic, charming, or little mom-and-pop.

In much the same way, I think it’s also important to look for basic features that are inherent to all of the best mobile shopping apps. Here are some common features that these apps simply must have:

  • Compatible with both Android and iPhone: This one is a no-brainer. If an app is being ranked as among the most popular, it generally has to be available to users of both iPhones and Androids. It would be pretty hard to make any popularity list without being available to the largest number of users.
  • Pays you to grocery shop: It’s no secret that my second favorite hobby (behind spin class, of course) is clothes shopping. But even someone who hits up Nordstrom Rack on a weekly basis like me still does more grocery shopping than anything else. We all have to eat after all, which makes getting paid to grocery shop a vital quality that all the most popular apps share.
  • Works with multiple big retailers, both online and off: Any mobile shopping app worth having has to work with the stores that I frequent the most, like Walmart and Target. But, since it’s 2018, it’s also vital that, in addition to giving you points for shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, mobile shopping apps let you earn gift cards for shopping online.

Most Popular Mobile Shopping Apps Statistics

My personal favorite among the most popular mobile shopping apps is called Shopkick, and it has all the common features we mentioned above and then some. Don’t take just my word for it, though. Poking around online recently, I discovered statistics that show that in 2017, Shopkick was one of the most popular mobile shopping apps. When it came to apps you can use to get points at multiple stores, my personal favorite, Shopkick, is the most popular!

It’s easy to see why. If you’re not familiar, how Shopkick works is that it gives you points for shopping online or in-person for the things you already do during your normal shopping trips. If you’re in-person, this means you get points just for walking into a store, and for scanning the barcodes of certain items to get more info, and for taking pictures of your receipt after you’ve made your purchase. It’s a similar system for shopping online, except now you get points for visiting online stores, viewing products, watching informational videos, and for using your mobile phone to buy products. Easy! 

You get points just for walking into a store … and for taking pictures of
your receipt after you’ve made your purchase.

Change can be hard, but knowing what to look for and having crowdsourced info about the most popular options can make trying new and different things easier. Just look at me with all my new spin class ladies. You know how I know that these new ladies are becoming my friends? I’ve already got them using Shopkick! After spin class, we usually start by talking about how tough the day’s session was, then before you know it we’re into what our favorite recent specials on Shopkick have been. It’s a great way to bond!

Start using the most popular free mobile shopping app for earning rewards fast. Download Shopkick’s free app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with a free sidekick.

And, if you love social media as much as you love your smartphone, join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy stokkete.

Get organized and earn kicks with Shopkick

Posted on by shopkick

The New Year is a perfect time to reflect on last year and set goals in areas where you’d like to improve. One of the most popular New Year’s resolution among Shopkickers is to get organized, just after getting fit and saving money.

Crush your resolution to get organized

According to a Shopkick poll, only 34% of us stick to our resolutions all year. Most people, 64% of respondents, abandon their goals by Spring. So how do you get your resolution to go from hope to achievement? Plan out your path to success. Try changing one thing or behavior at a time rather than making several changes all at once — you’ll be more likely to succeed.

If you want to get organized to start 2018 on the right foot, make a list of all the areas in your home (and your life!) that need to be decluttered. Then you can tackle one piece at a time.

Stay on track

You don’t need to go it alone. Share your resolutions with friends or fellow Shopkickers for extra encouragement and accountability. We’re all in this together!

Shopkickers like Ermalinda H. from Salt Lake City rely on Shopkick to keep them on track for their organizational and saving goals in 2018.

shopkicker uses shopkick to get organized

Check out our top finds to help you achieve your organizational goals and get kicks while you’re at it!

1. Get a closet makeover

get organized by updating closet storage

Is your closet full of old clothes or styles that just don’t fit you anymore? Get ahead of the spring cleaning craze and donate your old items to make way for 

the new! Make sure you’re set up for success by using space-saving hangers, installing shelving, or using foldable bins.

The dream: a clean closet that fits your whole shoe collection. The solution: earning kicks with these affordable organizers! Shop our guide to get inspiration and kicks for your closeting needs.

2. Perfect your pantry

get organized by cleaning the kitchenYou know what they say: “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Up your kitchen storage game and find a place for all your cookware and gadgets. Group similar items for easy access. Donate things you never use. Condense anything you may have multiples of, like spices or baking supplies.

Need some resources? Transform your kitchen from messy to immaculate with these smart finds from Walmart.com. As a bonus, you’ll earn kicks for every dollar you spend!

3. Declutter your life — go digital!

get organized around the house and keep it clean

Tidying up is a snap when you’re digital! Upgrade to digital copies of your favorite movies, shows, books, albums, and more. Check out our guide to going digital with Amazon. Take the plunge, save space, and get kicks as you go!

 

Get started

Open the app to start earning gift cards and see how Shopkick can help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions. Don’t have the app? Download it here to join the fun!