How to choose a shopping app that gives you credit at your favorite stores

Posted on January 15, 2018 by shopkick

I have a theory that, years ago, it was easier to pick favorites. At a recent dinner party, we were playing a game where we went around the table naming our favorite songs, favorite movies, favorite books, etc. It was a great way to spark conversation and get to know each other, but everyone had trouble limiting themselves to one favorite anything. Maybe it’s hard because nowadays we have so much access to information. We use music streaming services with thousands of songs, movie streaming apps with thousands of movies, and audiobook services with millions of titles.

I think this was easier before all of these amazing apps! In high school, even shopping came with fewer choices. Back then, I’d go to the local mall every Friday and visit a regular set of stores. We only learned about the sales when we arrived. Now, with the advent of mobile devices, I base my retail routine around shopping apps that give you credits for buying certain products and for going to certain stores. My rotation of stores for electronics, clothes, jewelry, and even grocery has become much broader.

This is a great thing! Variety is the spice of life—and also the best friend of any serious shopper. A teeny tiny problem has arisen, though: There are so many shopping apps that give you credits to choose from! Don’t worry though, today I want to talk about how to choose a shopping app that gives you credit at your favorite stores—one you will be certain to use over and over and over.

5 Qualities That All Shopping Apps That Give You Credits MUST Have

At that dinner party with the fun favorites game, the hardest question for me to answer was the one about my favorite song. I love listening to music and making playlists. In fact, I have a playlist for just about everything I do on a regular basis: driving, writing emails, spin class, unwinding at night on the sofa with a book and a glass of wine.

Luckily, when it comes to picking a favorite among all the shopping apps that give you credits, you can look for a standard set of qualities. Here are the ones I prioritize:

It’s free: This seems like a super simple concept, but it’s worth remembering: To save money, you shouldn’t have to pay any money up front. That’s counterintuitive. The best shopping apps are free.
It gives you credits at many stores: That dinner party helped me realize that variety is something we all treasure these days, and the best shopping apps are no different. With so many stores and shopping options out there, you want an app that gives you points for shopping at a wide variety of stores, whether that means rewarding you for the clothes you buy or paying you to shop for groceries.
It lets you earn points for various shopping activities: There are some apps that only give you points for purchases, but others let you earn points for all the things you do during a typical shopping trip. The best offer points for purchases and also let you get paid for scanning barcodes to learn about products, and even for just walking into a store!
It pays out in gift cards: There are many different ways that these apps can pay you for shopping. Some send a paper check in the mail (um, 2001 called, it wants its payment system back) and some go straight to your PayPal account. Personally, I like an app that pays out in gift cards to all my favorite stores, because it’s just so much more fun that way, which brings me to my next point…
It’s f-u-n. Fun, please and thank you: The way to really up your savings with these apps is to use them on a regular and consistent basis.The best way to do that is to make sure the one you use is a ton of fun! My favorite shopping apps not only get me cash back on my shopping but also turn every trip to the store into a fun little scavenger hunt for points. This makes it so easy to remember to use them while I’m out and about.

The Best of the Shopping Apps That Give You Credits

Now that we have a wide variety (sensing a theme here?) in the qualities we’re looking for, it’s time to pick the app that does the best job bringing them all together! For me, that app is Shopkick. I just love the way that Shopkick does all the things we mentioned above, like letting me earn credits for shopping for everything from juice to jeans. Best of all, how it works is super simple and easy. You get points for all the things you do when you’re out shopping, like buying products, scanning barcodes, and even just walking into the store!

Another thing I love about Shopkick is that it plays well with others. In other words, if you have trouble picking just one of the shopping apps that give you credits and instead want to use multiple rebate apps to maximize rewards, Shopkick is a great choice! Plus, their social media network is a great place to talk about the app, or about anything else really. Fair warning, you’ll want to spend lots of time on there. I know I have!

I think 2018 is going to be the hardest year yet to pick favorites, but with shopping apps there’s really only one choice for me: Shopkick. Obviously, I highly recommend you give it a try. Of course, as we’ve figured out today, variety is the spice of life. Your favorite doesn’t have to be my favorite, but I’d be happy if it was! That’s because the fun factor really increases when there are other kickers out there to discuss it with.

Ready to get to know your own favorite of the shopping apps that give you credits? 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 social media as much as you love your local Target, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy astremska.

The top retail apps of 2018 to earn shopping rewards

Posted on January 10, 2018 by shopkick

It’s hard to imagine now, but when I started high school I didn’t have my own phone. Not to give away my age (ahem), but nobody did. About midway through sophomore year, though, my classmates started showing up with cell phones, like the blue Nokia phones with the super addictive snake game and the Motorola Razr flip phone. I didn’t want to be left out, so I had to have one. Miraculously, after much begging, my parents agreed.

Fast-forward to 2018 and my phone is now a necessity in my life—I even use it to shop! I need to have my phone with me anytime I go shopping these days because I’ve discovered something amazing: retail shopping rewards apps.

My favorite retail apps make my shopping experience easier, help me rake in the savings, and make shopping even more fun! If you want your phone to make you money in 2018, here is my list of the top retail apps that will help you earn big shopping rewards.

Walgreens:

If you’ve been shopping at Walgreens for your prescription and drugstore needs as long as I have, you’re probably familiar with the Walgreens Balance Rewards program. With this app-based program, you can accumulate points whenever you make purchases at Walgreens, and then later trade them in for savings at the store. You also get to participate in the Walgreens Register Rewards program, which prints out coupons for you when you make your purchases, all of which is designed to reward you for your loyalty to Walgreens.

Nordstrom:

What makes the Nordstrom in-store app among my all time favorites is the way it does all of the shopping app basics so well. Can you browse products by department or brand? Oh yeah, super easily. Are all the functions listed in an easy-to-use bar at the bottom of the app at all times? You bet they are. Is there also a fun style section that features the company’s editorial and social media content? Sure is. Okay, so maybe that last one isn’t as basic as the others, but it’s still worth including. This is a well-designed app, artsy and eye-catching, exactly the kind of sidekick I need when out looking for a dress for my cousin’s wedding or shoes for New Year’s with my man.

How you save: This app provides notifications on big sales so you don’t miss out. You can also download a version for the company’s savings brand Nordstrom Rack, which makes it easy to find locations for that store.

The last category of top retail apps in 2018 is kind of like the many small parts of your house that you can’t live without—think furniture, indoor plumbing, electricity, and all of your carefully-selected and precisely-placed decorations. These are the retail shopping rewards apps that you can use at many featured stores, not just one. The best of this bunch can be used online and in-store and easily combined with any of the other apps on our list to really put the pièce de résistance on your house of savings!

Shopkick:

If I had to pick my favorite retail app of 2018, it would have to be Shopkick. It’s been my winner for years now. Not only does it help me really up my savings game and watch my budget, but it also makes my shopping experience a lot more fun. How Shopkick works is that it gives you points, called kicks, for the things you already do while you’re out shopping: walking into stores, scanning barcodes to get more info on products, and, of course, making purchases. I’ve even got my friends and family using it—and they have a really engaging Facebook page where I can connect with other mamas and shoppers! In other words, going back to my house analogy, Shopkick would be like the entertainment room where we all get together, hang out, and enjoy ourselves. I highly recommend it.

Checkout 51:

Checkout 51 is a bit limited compared to an uber versatile app like Shopkick because it focuses primarily on helping you get paid for your grocery shopping. Still, it’s a great one to have. The cashback offers for groceries available through Checkout51 change every week on Thursday mornings, so waking up to see what deals are available can easily become part of your end-of-week shopping routine. Then, when you go grocery shopping, if you purchase any eligible items, just snap a quick picture of the receipt to accumulate money back. Once you reach $20 in savings, Checkout 51 will mail you a check. It’s usually easy to reach $20. One recent week, for example, I got $1 back on a box of cereal, another $2 back on air freshener plugins, and then $3 back on a disinfectant spray, putting me a quarter of the way to that $20 goal with just three items. As mentioned above, though, deals do change weekly.

SavingStar

SavingStar is a digital coupon app that pays users to shop at grocery and drugstores—anywhere you get all the vital things you put in your fridge and medicine cabinets. More than 60,000 stores are part of SavingStar, and 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. To take advantage of SavingStar, users either link their existing store loyalty cards to the app or submit receipts after they make purchases. Their savings add up until they can eventually cash out through PayPal, Upromise, or in the form of Starbucks, iTunes, or AMC Theater gift codes, so it’s pretty versatile in how it rewards you.

The best pharmacy rewards program apps for your smartphone

Posted on January 10, 2018 by shopkick

Having three boys who are all pretty close in age can be a lot of fun. They’re always inventing games to play with each other, having loud and crazy video game sessions downstairs, and just making me laugh until my sides literally hurt.

I, of course, love that my boys get along so well, but sometimes wish they weren’t that close to each other, like when it’s cold season and, like clockwork, they all seem to get sick at the same. exact. time. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear they plan it! One starts with the sneezing, sniffles, and runny nose and, before I know it, there’s a chain reaction of sick boys curled up in blankets surrounded by Kleenex.

Doctors visits, prescriptions, and jug after jug after jug of Gatorade don’t fit into my regular monthly budget; I never really plan to spend as much as I do each winter at the pharmacy. Luckily, I’ve become quite the expert at which are the best pharmacy rewards program apps—and why!

These pharmacy programs can really help you find products you need on sale and earn rewards points you can trade in later for cash back in the form of gift cards. If your family is anything like mine, believe me, the day will come when you’ll be grateful you downloaded your pharmacy rewards program apps.

The Best Pharmacy Rewards Program Benefits and Mobile Apps

Our town has plenty of pharmacies for me to choose from when my boys get sick, from CVS to Walgreens to Target to our local grocery store—and I think I’ve tried them all. As a result, I’ve enrolled in a pharmacy rewards program at basically every one of the pharmacies within driving distance of my house.

The first step when trying to maximize your savings is to enroll in multiple rewards programs. Let’s start with the branded store-sponsored programs first before we get into shopping apps you can use at multiple locations. Here are the best pharmacy rewards programs available from specific stores:

Walgreens Balance Rewards: This is a simple program that gives you points for making purchases at Walgreens. When you accumulate enough points, you can trade them in for savings. It doesn’t get much simpler than that! The program is available on an easy-to-use mobile app, too. Another great benefit of this program is that it gives you access to something called Register Rewards, which are coupons you earn at checkout, usually somewhat related to the things you just bought. They won’t save you money on your first stop, but if you’ve ever had three sniffly boys at home, you know that you’ll probably be back at Walgreens in a day or two and can redeem your savings then.
CVS ExtraCare: We are fortunate enough to live directly across the street from a CVS. So close, in fact, that when one (or all) of the boys are under the weather, I can just buzz on over there and grab them the tissues, juice, or decongestant they need to feel better without even starting up my car. Oh, and with the CVS ExtraCare program, I can take advantage of some fantastic savings while I’m there—2% cash back on most purchases, to be exact. Almost every time you use your CVS ExtraCare card, you rack up rewards points. Then, those reward payouts are issued to you on a quarterly basis, coming as a nice little surprise on the first of January, April, July, and October. Like the Walgreens Balance Rewards program, this one is also available on a mobile app, making it super convenient. Maybe 2% seems small to you now, but, trust me, it really adds up—especially during cold and flu season!
Target REDcard: This one is a little different than the other two programs because it’s also a credit or debit card, but if you go to Target as much as I do, it really would benefit you to sign up! With this card, you get these great benefits:
- 5% savings in-store and online
- Free shipping on most products you buy online
- Access to an extended return policy

How to Pair the Best Pharmacy Rewards Program with a Shopping App

My boys make a really great team—when it’s not cold season anyway—but one team I like just as much is pairing a shopping rewards app with the programs offered directly by my favorite pharmacies. My pick for the best shopping rewards app is Shopkick, which can be paired with any of the best pharmacy rewards programs I described above.

How Shopkick works is just so simple: I go to Target or CVS or Walgreens to get my boys their meds (or anything else the house needs) and Shopkick gives me points for the things I do while I’m out shopping, like scanning barcodes for more info on featured products, making purchases, and even just walking into some stores. When I’ve earned enough points, called kicks, I can trade them in for gift cards to my favorite stores. And, I can do all this while enjoying the many benefits of the store-branded rewards programs. It basically doubles my savings!

When I’ve earned enough points, called kicks, I can trade them in for gift cards to my favorite stores. And, I can do all this while enjoying the many benefits of the store-branded rewards programs. It basically doubles my savings!

Obviously, I’m never happy to see my boys start to feel crummy, but having these great rewards program apps on my phone to help lessen the costs has been a real lifesaver for me and my budget. I honestly don’t remember how I used to get by without programs like Walgreens Balance Rewards, CVS ExtraCare, and my shopping sidekick, Shopkick.

I could go on and on about the benefits of the best pharmacy rewards programs out there, but I think I just heard one of my boys sneeze. Now I have to listen for any subsequent coughing or sniffling; it may be time to run to the store again and rack up some more pharmacy savings and rewards.

Ready to combine your favorite pharmacy rewards program with the best all-in-one shopping rewards app? 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 social media as much as you love your local Target, CVS, or Walgreens, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy leaf

Stick to your New Year’s resolution to save money with Shopkick

Posted on January 9, 2018 by shopkick

The #1 New Year’s resolution among Shopkick users this year was to save money, with almost 65% of people we polled making this a goal in 2018!

But while many of us may still be feeling optimistic about our 2018 resolutions, many have also already dropped them to the curb. In fact, about 80% of us will forget our resolutions by week 6.

Let’s be honest: sometimes willpower is just not enough to stick to our plans in moments of weakness (looking at you, Starbucks!). Let us clue you in on a few secrets that will help you set your savings habits on auto-pilot and end your year with a bit more cash in the bank!

Spend less, save more

See how Shopkick can help users like Adriana M. meet their savings goals in 2018.

1. Buy in Bulk

Sites like Boxed and Jet.com offer amazing deals on everyday products when you buy in bulk, all delivered right to your door – it’s like Costco from home!

Stock up on staples you know you’ll go through like pasta sauce, healthy snacks (the more you have in the house, the more you’ll have to stick to that other healthy eating goal), or…wine, anyone?

Plus, get kicks for every $1 you spend on Boxed or Jet.com when you buy through Shopkick. Saving money for saving money? Inception!

Check out our roundup of some of the best bulk buys in the app this week.

2. Cook at Home

Research shows people spend an average of $2,000 a year on buying lunch alone! Add that to dinner for a family of 4 every night, and you can imagine how much you would be able to add to that piggy bank if you opted to make your meals instead.

Need the tools to get started, or maybe just re-inspired? Check out these great kitchen appliances from Walmart.com, as well as some other at-home sidekicks that will save you money over time when you make things like coffee and seltzer water on your own, too.

3. Make More Money to Save Money!

We know it sounds crazy, but the best way to save more money is to actually to make more money. So hypercharge those kicks and get paid for what you already do – shop!

Shopkick users rack up kicks to cash in for gift cards for everything from checking into stores and scanning products, to making online purchases, or even simply watching videos.

“Shopkick has been like a part-time job for me,” says April Mahoney from Houston, Texas. “It has helped me make money to buy items for myself and my business, as well as Christmas gifts for family.”

The best part? Shopkickers who save don’t have to sacrifice all their little indulgences or take away from their savings to do so!

Sarah Johnson from Bristol, TN, for example, plans to save money without having to give up her love of shopping. “The more I earn in gift cards the easier it will be to stick to a budget, because momma loves to shop.”

We’re with you Sarah!

Many Shopkickers use their gift cards to fund their annual Starbucks budget, while others save up for family vacations to Disney World with little to nothing out of pocket. After all, the third most popular resolution among Shopkickers this year? Enjoy life to the fullest.

So set a goal, earn more kicks, and save your paycheck for the important things.

Get Started

Visit the app to check out the latest kicks and start working toward your savings goal this year. Don’t have the app? Download it here to join the fun and start earning your free gift cards!

How are you using Shopkick to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions this year? Follow us on Facebook and let us know!

How to make the most of retail store apps for Android or iPhones

Posted on January 5, 2018 by shopkick

Without realizing what I was doing, I’ve apparently gotten most of the people in my life hooked on using retail store apps for their Android or iPhone. I mean, I’m well aware that I love using these apps, but I guess I hadn’t realized I’d been selling their greatness to anyone and everyone who would listen. You see, I’m a business major and, to me, shopping is serious business.

How most retail store apps work, whether for Android or iPhone, is pretty simple: shop, earn, and redeem. But what I wanted to know was how to make the most of them to really up my shopping game with a free app. I wanted to pinpoint what my college business professors might call a set of best practices for using free shopping rewards apps on my smartphone.

Let’s take a look at some of my personal recommendations for getting the most out of retail store apps—because you don’t have to be a business major to get down to the business of savings and rewards.

Free Is the Way to Be for Retail Store Apps for Androids and iPhones

Here’s a definition of what best practices are, taken straight out of my old college notes: Commercial or professional procedures that are accepted or prescribed as being correct or most effective. And here’s the definition of them that we’re going to use today: retail app usage procedures that are accepted or prescribed as being correct or most effective.

Now that we have that clear, let’s start with the most obvious tip I can offer when it comes to retail store apps for both Androids and iPhones: free is the way to be.

You simply shouldn’t have to pay a cent to use a great retail store app, whether it’s for a specific store or one you can use at all the spots you shop.

This is more than just a catchy little rhyme, it’s also vital to understand. You simply shouldn’t have to pay a cent to use a great retail store app, whether it’s for a specific store or one you can use at all the spots you shop. The point, after all, is to save not to spend. Or maybe I should say save while you spend in 2018.

Retail Store Apps Should Be Versatile

Since I started urging all my friends to use retail store apps for their iPhone and Android smartphones, I have, on rare occasions, encountered some hesitation. Like most of us these days, many of them have started to do the bulk of their shopping online.

They understandably worry that taking the time to download and start using a retail store app won’t be worth it to them, since they find themselves going online to buy almost everything, from paper towels to books to clothes to electronics. Hey, I’ve been there. I get more and more things online every year, too!

That’s why our second best practice for using these apps is to make sure the one you choose will also help you earn points for shopping online. My favorites are the ones that let you get paid to shop online, even if you’re making purchases from your mobile device. It’s generally pretty simple to use them when you shop from a desktop, too—as simple as it is to use them in person at brick and mortar stores. You get points for plenty of online shopping activities, including:

Visiting online stores
Viewing select products
Making mobile purchases
Watching featured videos

These are all things you’d probably be doing anyway, so why not earn while you do? This is why making sure you get an app you can use when you shop online ranks second on our list of best practices.

Go for the Best Retail Store App

When I went back to look for an exact definition of best practices in my old college notes, I noticed something else I’d underlined: always collaborate with the best and brightest. I think this is also true of using retail store apps. While using multiple apps to maximize rewards is definitely a great strategy, my advice is to never lose sight of which app is the best. To me, that means the app that is both the most fun and gives you the most chances for savings.

While using multiple apps to maximize rewards is definitely a great strategy, my advice is to never lose sight of which app is the best.

Since shopping is a thing we all have to do all of the time, it’s vital to get an app that gives you reasons to look forward to using it, like turning every trip to the store into a fun scavenger hunt for points. For me, the app that does this best is Shopkick.

How Shopkick works is cool because when you use it, you literally start scoring points, called kicks, the moment you walk into the store. Then it becomes a hunt to find featured products and scan their barcodes for prices and info. Finally, it also gives you points once you make your purchases. Plus, it fits in with the first two best practices for shopping apps we established above.

You may have your own school of thought on these apps, but for me, the choice is easier than Business 101: Shopkick is not only at the top of the class, but in a class of its own.

Start making the most of retail store 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 Wayhome Studio

Get paid to shop: How apps save shoppers money

Posted on January 4, 2018 by shopkick

There’s a cashier at my local grocery store, Maya, whose lane I always, always, always insist on going down. We’re super friendly, she does the best job bagging groceries that I’ve ever seen, and she always gives me tips about what’s on sale.

I haven’t kept track of how many deals Maya has helped me take advantage of over the years (or, for that matter, how many inside jokes the two of us have had), but I know if I added up all those savings, it would be massive! She calls herself my personal coupon clipper. She even mentioned she wishes she could just walk around with her favorite customers, like yours truly, helping them find the best deals and rewards for buying their favorite products. That’s when a lightbulb went off.

Actually, I told her, I do have an amazing shopping helper, I’m using it right now—and you can too! I get paid to shop by using a free app that’s fun and easy. She was intrigued, of course, and I even held up the line explaining it to her, but once the guy behind me heard what I was saying, his annoyance turned to awe. He and the cashier both downloaded my favorite app on the spot.

If you want to get in on our shopping savings as well, read on. Then, next time you’re in line, pass this onto your favorite cashier.

Learn How You Can Get Paid to Shop With a Smartphone App

While Maya, my favorite cashier, may be an expert at when to take advantage of sales at our local grocery store, I was able to fill her in on the concept of free apps that pay you to grocery shop. Now, she and I have had some really long conversations in the past, but this informative talk about how to use my favorite apps was not one of those. It’s not that we rushed it or anything, but how these apps work is just so simple:

#1: Earn points. Depending on the app you use to get paid to shop, how you earn your points may vary, but all of my favorites give you rewards points for multiple tasks, most or all of which are things you tend to do while you’re out shopping anyway, like scanning barcodes to get prices or product info, and, of course, for actually making a purchase. Some of these apps even give you points just for walking into a store!
#2: Cash in your points. Once you’ve earned enough points, it then becomes as simple as trading them in for cash back in the form of gift cards at all your favorite stores. Basically, these apps quickly get you cash back on your receipts, kind of like those old mail-in rebate form, only so much quicker.

It’s that simple. Seriously.

Get Paid to Shop With My All-Time Favorite App

Maya, the cashier extraordinaire, was basically sold at this point, and then we found ourselves in this weird reverse position of her thanking me for finding new ways to save. The app I recommended she use to get paid to shop? Shopkick, of course.

The app I recommended she use to get paid to shop? Shopkick, of course.

There are other shopping rewards and cash back apps out there that you can use, but Shopkick just simply does it all! It even has a kicking (sorry for the pun!) social media community of likeminded Shopkickers who are truly awesome about sharing their own tips for savvy shopping, as well as jokes, recipes, and mommy stories. I came to Shopkick for the savings, but I’ve stayed for all the fun I’ve had hunting for points—and for the friends I’ve made commenting on the funny things Shopkick shares on its Facebook page.

It really felt good to help Maya out with her own shopping game for once. She told me she’d been using old-school methods like cutting out coupons and in-store rebate savings programs, but she was excited to upgrade her shopping rewards repertoire to the easy-to-use Shopkick app. It was even the first thing she mentioned to me the next time I came through her line! In fact, she said she’d been telling her other customers all about it, too, which probably means there will be even more of us using it soon. So, see you in the aisle, Shopkickers!

Learn how you can start getting paid to shop before your next trip out to the aisles. 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 Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy: Dean Drobot

Retail shopping apps for iPhone and Android to kick off your savings

Posted on January 3, 2018 by shopkick

I’m a huge fan of playing fantasy football on my iPhone. I’m in a league with my old college buddies and we offer our yearly champion a little reward: we all pitch in to buy the winner a gift card to his or her favorite store. It’s a nice little incentive, but let me tell you, if you break it down by the many, many, many hours you have to spend making roster moves and setting your lineup, the reward is relatively small compared to the time investment.

Hey, that’s okay! Win or lose, fantasy football is just plain fun. Plus, these days I’ve discovered other apps for my phone that can help me earn bigger and better rewards with much less time and energy (not to mention nail-biting anxiety) than it takes to capture first place in my super competitive fantasy football league. I’m talking about an awesome concept we can all root for: retail shopping apps for iPhone and Android that help you get paid to shop.

Now I’m hauling in rewards for all kinds of stuff I’ve been doing forever, like buying all the latest electronics, getting new clothes, and even shopping for paper towels. These retail shopping apps for my iPhone even pay me for buying groceries. Crazy. Crazy but true. And now I want to share my favorite shopping rewards apps with you, because, unlike a super competitive fantasy football league, we’re all on the same team here!

How Retail Shopping Apps for iPhone and Android Work

I think the biggest learning curve when it comes to fantasy football is how the apps work. I mean, I already knew a ton about football and which players are the best, but learning the ins and outs of how the fantasy football app itself worked took some time. The first season I played, I was shocked when my lineup locked at game time and I couldn’t acquire any new players until the following Wednesday.

So, let’s start by going over how retail shopping apps work. A lot of stores have branded apps as well, but we’re going to focus today on shopping rewards apps you can use at lots of different stores because those are the ones I use the most—and the good news is that they’re all incredibly easy to use!

The exact mechanics of how they work can sometimes vary depending on which one you decide to use, but all my favorites basically function like this: you get points for the shopping that you already do and then you trade those points in for rewards, usually in the form of gift cards. The app I use gives me points for buying featured products and taking a picture of my receipt, for scanning barcodes, and even for just walking into some of my favorite stores. It’s even more awesome than my Seahawks winning the Superbowl a few years ago (maybe).

The Top Benefits of Retail Shopping Apps for iPhones and Androids

I still remember the day when my buddy in college recruited me into his fantasy football league. I was skeptical—super skeptical. It just seemed like it would be a lot of hassle and take up way too much of my time. I was there to meet people and study, after all (mostly study, I swear!). My buddy laid it on pretty thick, though, by emphasizing how much fun it would make watching football every week, something I knew I was going to do either way. That was a really convincing argument. I mean, how can you say no to something that improves and enhances something you’re already doing?

Well, that all pretty much sums up my case for why you should embrace using retail shopping apps for your iPhone or Android: it enhances something you know you’re going to be doing already. I’m talking about shopping. You can’t avoid it, so you might as well get rewarded for doing it.

I touched on some of my favorite benefits of using a shopping rewards app above, but like the details of any epic fantasy football win, I don’t mind talking about them again:

#1: You’ll get paid to shop. Using a shopping rewards app scores me points for my budget while I’m at Target, Best Buy, or the grocery store—even online. It’s as simple as this: I have to shop for essentials (and tech accessories, of course) anyway, so why not haul in some big rewards for doing it?
#2: You’ll earn gift cards to your favorite stores: I love having gift cards to my favorite stores because, believe it or not, I actually keep a pretty careful budget. Having a gift card feels like I’m getting things for free. That’s why my second favorite benefit for retail shopping apps is that all the best ones let you trade your points in for free gift cards to stores like Amazon, Starbucks, and Walmart.
#3: You’ll feel like shopping is a game: I don’t mind shopping, but I also don’t love it—not until recently, at least. Now that I use retail shopping apps, there’s a challenge involved, though: how many points can I accumulate in one trip? It turns everyday shopping trips into a scavenger hunt. I’m a fan.

The Best Retail Shopping Apps for iPhone and Android

I think my long-time fantasy football league has now used three different platforms over the years to keep track of our rosters: Yahoo, ESPN, and CBS Sports. They all have different features, so it was kind of confusing each time we switched; in retrospect, I kind of wish we’d just picked one and stuck with it. That’s actually what my advice is to you with retail shopping apps: find one you love and stick with it (although you can also use multiple rewards apps to maximize your rewards, but that’s a different ballgame).

My personal favorite is an app called Shopkick. I’ve tried a few others, but I love this one because it’s super simple, it pays out in gift cards to all my favorite stores, and it gives me chances to score points, called kicks, at almost every turn, starting when I walk into the store. Shopkick has really maximized my shopping game with a single mobile app, kind of like how the Patriots would be nothing without a certain QB. One major difference between Shopkick and fantasy football, though, is that there are rarely heartbreaking defeats or subsequent trash talk.

Shopkick is super simple, pays out in gift cards to all my favorite stores, and gives me chances to score points

So yeah, I highly recommend taking out your iPhone or Android and downloading Shopkick. And fantasy football season is the perfect time to do it. There have been a ton of weekends when I’ve scored serious shopping points by stocking up on snacks before having my old buddies over to watch a game. Shopkick will definitely help you kick off your next shopping trip—and that’s no fantasy.

Ready to put down the fantasy football and pickup retail 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 Rido81

Get fit and earn kicks with Shopkick

Posted on January 2, 2018 by shopkick

Every year, many of us take time to reflect on the past year and resolve to make the new year better than the last. One popular resolution is to be healthier — losing weight, eating better, or achieving fitness goals. These “get fit” resolutions are entirely attainable, but require planning ahead.

Keep your resolutions this year

We polled loyal Shopkickers to find out about their New Year’s resolutions. Despite having the best intentions, we learned only 34% of people actually stick to their resolutions throughout the whole year. Most people, 64% of respondents, abandon their goals by Spring.

Experts say that the best way to keep your resolutions is to set smaller, more realistic goals and planning out the steps you will take to achieve them. For example, rather than promising to lose weight, pledge to lose one pound a week until you reach your goal. Instead of resolving to eat healthier, commit to planning meals three times a week and perhaps eating red meat once a week.

Get healthy and earn kicks with Shopkick

Do you need an extra reason to stick to your resolution this year? Shopkickers like Shaurice D. from Atlanta use Shopkick to help them achieve their fitness goals while they earn kicks. Some Shopkickers get their kicks while they get in their daily steps, while others browse the app to find kicks on fitness or health-related products.

Check out our top finds to help you crush this year’s fitness resolutions and get kicks while you’re at it!

Eat Healthy

Try planning your meals in advance to set yourself up for success. You can eat wholesome AND delicious meals that are good for both your waistline and your wallet. See our menu of health-friendly treats from Boxed and Jet. Better yet, have them all delivered right to your door!

Work Out in Style

Find an exercise you like and stick to it! Try a new fitness class or set a goal of to run a 5k in 2018. It helps to dress the part — these sporty-chic styles from Amazon will have you looking forward to your workout. As a bonus, you’ll earn kicks for every $1 spent on your purchases.

Get Fit at Home

If you can’t make it to the gym, bring the gym to you. Start feeling the burn today with these home gym steals at Walmart.com. Your purchases will give you a head start on your 2018 kicks!

Get started

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

The best rewards programs: A comparison for savvy shoppers

Posted on December 29, 2017 by shopkick

There are many things that I am deeply appreciative of: my family, my friends, and all the opportunities I’ve had. But when it comes to shopping, I think what I’m most grateful for is having a lifelong bestie who just so happens to live in New York City, my shopping mecca.

When I head to NYC for a visit, my BFF, Laura, and I do one thing virtually nonstop: shop! There’s Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue, a million adorable vintage shops in the East Village, and boutique after boutique after boutique in Brooklyn. It’s always an amazing few days—but can be a bit overwhelming.

The only other experience I’ve had where I’ve gotten a bit overwhelmed with shopping was when I first discovered the concept of shopping rewards programs and apps. I didn’t really know where to start. That’s why I want to offer my take on a rewards program comparison.

While they may not host you in a chic New York City apartment for a weekend, the best shopping rewards programs and apps are kind of like my friend Laura in another way: something you know you can count on having in your life for many years—and lots of fun! So, let’s make sure you to compare some of the best and find one (or three or four) that’s exactly right for you!

A Rewards Program Comparison of Store Brand Apps

One of the things I wish I had known about shopping in New York is that the city seems to have two major types of shops: boutiques that offer clothes so gorgeous you’ll want to cry (and prices to match) and consignment shops full of amazing clothes at a major discount just because they’ve been worn before.

As we start our shopping rewards program comparison, it’s important to note there are two basic kinds of these as well: the store brand variety and the third-party shopping app that will work at many different stores. Pro tip: the best move is to use multiple shopping apps to maximize the awards you get from the store-sponsored programs.

First, though, you need to know which store brand rewards programs are the best of the best. Here are some of my personal favorites:

I love, love, love my getaways to Starbucks, which are sometimes planned, but usually a spontaneous decision, like when I duck into Target for school supplies and see the little Starbucks welcoming me there, like an oasis in the desert of trying to pick my battles with fussy kids that I know is in my immediate future. I’ve been loving Starbucks a little more often since discovering the My Starbucks Rewards program, which gives me points, called Stars that I can use for free food and coffee. Sorry Laura, but I just might have a new best friend—Starbucks!

Another favorite store of mine that just so happens to have one of the best rewards programs for comparison is Target. I’ve always liked Target, from its dollar section up front to its seasonally-focused section in the back, the design of the stores, the Target brand of products, and how I can find basically anything I ever need there! Throw in a fantastic Target app and rewards program—plus the Starbucks they have in most stores—and I’m one happy shopper! The Target rewards program and app lets you plan your trip, get the low-down on deals, order online, browse the weekly ad, scan barcodes for prices, and more. It’s pretty darn handy to have as a shopping companion, although Laura still takes the cake.

The only store I spend as much time browsing as I do at Target has to be Nordstrom. And that’s not counting the hours I spend browsing The Rack and HauteLook. But enough about my browsing problem, let’s talk about Nordstrom Rewards! When it comes to clothing stores, this is the rewards program, no comparison—or at least it’s my favorite, anyway. Nordstrom Rewards is free to join and beyond simple. For every $1 you spend, you get one rewards point. When you reach 2,000 points, you can trade them in for a Nordstrom gift card!

A Multi-Store Rewards Program Comparison of the Best Shopping Apps

One of the things that has made Laura and I such a great pair over the years is how well we complement each other. I’m kind of OCD about getting to my weekly spin classes and yoga, and I’ve been this way since high school. Laura, meanwhile, is the queen of relaxing and keeping up with hip trends. I’ve been to more memorable before-they-were-famous concerts than I can count because of her great tastes. And she has made it to about ten spin classes because of me (ten more than she would have joined on her own—ha!).

When it comes to picking a shopping rewards program app, you want to find one that complements your favorite store brand apps. Just like you’re better with your bestie than without her, rewards programs are great on their own, but beyond compare when you can team them up. I mean, we’re talking about using multiple free apps that pay you to grocery shop and help you make money fast for the shopping you have to do, people. Isn’t technology wonderful?

Here are three choices that pair exceptionally well with store brand shopping apps:

One of the big things that drew me to Receipt Hog was its name. I love the idea of a big ol’ pig going shopping and hogging up all the savings. It’s just so cute. Anyway, like all of my favorite shopping rewards apps, you can use Receipt Hog when you go shopping at many of your favorite stores. It’s simple: after you’ve made your purchases—it could be for groceries, new clothes, makeup at Target, light bulbs at Home Depot—just take a photo of your receipt. Then, you get to take a paid survey or play a cool little slot machine game for prizes or coins. These are then traded in for cash or Amazon gift cards. Fun and easy!

Think of SavingStar as the digital vintage store of apps because it takes an old idea—clipping coupons—and makes it new again. SavingStar is basically a digital coupon app that pays users to shop at grocery and drugstores. More than 60,000 stores are part of SavingStar and they represent more than 100 retail chains. It’s generally free to use but beware: if your account is inactive for 180 days, they’ll charge you a fee of $3.99. To take advantage of SavingStar, users either link their existing store loyalty cards to the app, or submit receipts after they make a purchase. Savings are added up, then cashed out through PayPal, Upromise, or in the form of Starbucks, iTunes, or AMC Theater gift codes.

Not every shopping trip is going to be as fun as an excursion out in New York, but Shopkick, my favorite shopping rewards app, does turn every trip to the store into a super fun scavenger hunt for points, called kicks. It’s super easy to use, too. Users earn points by simply doing things they do every time they go shopping anyway. At its core, Shopkick is a free app that pays you gift cards to shop, both in-store and online. For example, if you download the app, then walk into a partner store, you’ll earn kicks. Scan featured item barcodes, get kicks. Buy a featured item, get more kicks! Shop online from your sofa using the app, get kicks! You can then trade them in for gift cards to a wide range of the stores you shop at regularly. One of my favorite things about Shopkick is that you really don’t have to go out of your way at all to use it and you can combine it with other shopping rewards apps—including any of the apps listed above—it’s that versatile! And, Shopkick also has a great social media community. So when I’m missing my friend Laura in New York, I can hop on there and hang out with like-minded people who love to share tips about everything from deals to ways to maximize the number of kicks you can earn each month. It’s a small thing, but it makes a BIG difference for my budget, so I can save up for my next trip to see NYC—and Laura, of course.

How to earn Whole Foods rewards using a free app

Posted on December 27, 2017 by shopkick

I still remember the very first time I went to Whole Foods. I felt a little nervous, like a kid on the first day of school, because everything was so new and different from the traditional grocery store around the corner from my house. I had to drive to the other side of town, find street parking, and navigate unfamiliar aisles. But you know what? Once I got past my initial jitters, I absolutely loved it.

Whole Foods is the best, from the super fresh local produce to the brands you don’t find anywhere else to—this is my boys’ favorite part—the delicious pre-made items that let me get together a very nice meal even when I’m short on time. Depending on what’s going on in a given month, though, sometimes my budget can make me a little hesitant to head on over there. I’m getting quite a bit more value with all the cool items and fresh produce at Whole Foods, but I’m also spending a little more.

I recently found the perfect way to get around this dilemma, though: free shopping apps that let you earn Whole Foods rewards points! With these apps, you can earn rewards just by shopping at Whole Foods, plus any number of other stores I go to all the time. And, just like their ready-to-eat snacks and meals, these apps are all incredibly easy to use. But the best part? Unlike those meals, they’re free!

Step One to Earn Whole Foods Rewards: Familiarize Yourself with Shopping Apps

The first time I went into Whole Foods, I was disoriented; there were so many new and different products that I’d never seen before. But I stuck with it, exploring the store aisle by aisle, and now I love, love, love Whole Foods!

The world of shopping rewards apps can feel like this too. Just like all the new products and brands at Whole Foods, when you try to choose one to start using, there are so many choices that it can be hard to know which one is going to help you earn the most Whole Foods rewards. Luckily for you, I’m here to be your guide!

Let’s start by narrowing our free shopping apps for Whole Foods rewards down to two basic categories:

The Whole Foods store rewards app: Whole Foods makes it easy to save with them by offering its own app. Remember when we talked about how to earn Target gift cards using a free app? This is a whole (get it?) lot like that! With the Whole Foods Market app, you get exclusive digital coupons, plus an easy-to-use reference guide that makes it easy to know exactly what’s on sale and when you should buy it. This app has seriously taken my shopping at Whole Foods to a whole (#sorrynotsorry) new level.
Multi-store shopping rewards apps: When it comes to my grocery shopping, I don’t like to stick to just one store. The best system for me is to get a few items at my neighborhood spot, a few more at Walmart or Target, and the really good produce and higher end stuff at Whole Foods. I’m actually like that with apps too, I can’t stick to only one. So, in addition to my Whole Foods app, I like to use some shopping apps good at lots of different stores too, apps that are free and can help me drastically increase my Whole Foods rewards! How these apps work is generally pretty simple: you go to Whole Foods, or Target, Walmart, etc., and you earn points and incentives for the things you do while you’re shopping anyway, like walking into the store, scanning barcodes to get more info about featured products, and making purchases. Easy! The key thing to remember is that using multiple rebate apps can maximize rewards.

Step Two to Earn Whole Foods Rewards: Establish a Routine

While my trips to Whole Foods are somewhat inconsistent, my routine when I go there is steady and strong:

Check the Whole Foods app for sales and digital coupons, then make sure I have my favorite shopping rewards app open as well.
Make a list of what I need, heavily influencing it based on the savings offered on the app.
Enter the store and scan all the products that my shopping rewards app is featuring.
Make sure I use my shopping rewards app to snap a quick picture of my receipt as soon as I get back to the car so I get rewarded for my purchases each and every time I shop.
Repeat!

This routine is automatic for me now, but I couldn’t really do it without my favorite multi-store shopping rewards app, Shopkick. Shopkick works at Whole Foods as well as all my other favorites stores, like Best Buy, Target—even Amazon! And, it turns all my shopping trips into a fun game to collect as many points, called kicks, as I can. With Shopkick, my trips to Whole Foods are like a scavenger hunt. I get points when I walk in, points for hunting down and scanning featured items, and points for making purchases.

Thanks to Shopkick and the Whole Foods app, my grocery trips are pretty carefree these days, regardless of what my budget is looking like during any given month. I just get so much out of this dynamic digital duo that the savings have made it possible to add Whole Foods to my regular repertoire of grocery stops. Now if only someone could invent an app that makes city parking easier.

Start getting paid to shop at Whole Foods with Shopkick. Download the free shopping rewards app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the fun of shopping with us as their savings sidekick!

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

Image courtesy SweetLana

The best QSR mobile advertising strategies

Posted on December 22, 2017 by shopkick

Quick service restaurants (QSRs) are facing challenging times as modern consumers have an overabundance of convenient options for dining out. Recent figures indicate that there are nearly 200,000 quick service restaurants in the US—and that number triples when all food service options are included in the figure. On top of that, restaurants are diversifying their menus; consumers don’t have to visit a specific restaurant when they’re craving a particular meal. Taco Bell is serving breakfast, McDonald’s is expanding their healthy eating options, and Domino’s is offering pasta and chicken wings. In this busy industry, the competitors who will stand out are the ones who take advantage of mobile moments, capturing the consumer’s attention as they are making their dining decisions.

Most QSR dining decisions are made while the consumer is on the road; therefore, the best QSR mobile advertising strategies are designed to work based on location as they travel with the consumer. They incentivize consumers to dine with your brand by making it convenient and rewarding to do so. Some of the top QSR brands in the world have taken advantage of this and, as a result, have been able to grab attention—and market share—in the crowded fast food industry. To give your brand a boost with QSR mobile advertising strategies, you must first examine what tactics have proven successful for similar brands in order to use them effectively.

Mobile-first isn’t so much an advertising strategy as it is a philosophy. In the past, digital marketing strategies took a decidedly desktop-focused approach. Marketers would focus most of their marketing budgets and advertising efforts on sharing the brand’s message via a desktop-based website. Design for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices was a lower priority—much lower. In recent years, however, many brands in the QSR industry have reversed their attitude by making mobile their primary focus.

Chili’s was a particularly successful early adopter of this approach. In 2015, they launched a new digital strategy which focused heavily on the company’s branded app. Aside from offering several high demand options like mobile ordering and restaurant browsing, the company also implemented geolocation technology. Customers who had downloaded the app were notified of current deals and specials each time they were in the vicinity of a Chili’s. They also receive personalized notifications based on their ordering history and preferences. Even the company’s loyalty program was run through the app, allowing customers to save up rewards points for future visits. Currently, their app has approximately 4.3 million regular users—and that number continues to climb.

The app became a major sales driver for the company after Chili’s put the majority of their digital advertising efforts into developing it. While the company maintains a desktop site, mobile is the brand’s primary focus. Despite being a national chain, mobile allows them to advertise to customers in the moment, based on where they are. This is particularly important in the quick service sector when you’re often right next door to your biggest competitors.

Incentivize the program by rewarding users:

One major converter for Chili’s is that its loyalty program allows users to collect points based on dollars spent. The rewards points act as a converter as well; when consumers are redeeming their points, they may order additional items. By including their QSR rewards program within their app, the company made these points easy to redeem, increasing the likelihood a consumer will visit a restaurant to use them—and give the staff an opportunity to upsell.

Offer a convenient experience:

Chili’s mobile app fully integrates several features which make it appealing to consumers. They can order items, collect rewards points, receive notifications that their meal is ready, and leave a review all via the smartphone app. This creates value for consumers by making their experience with Chili’s exceptionally convenient for a chain restaurant, helping to improve active use on the app and allowing them to compete with fast food restaurants offering drive-thru options.

Reputation management is a crucial aspect of QSR mobile advertising. While about 70% of consumers will look up a brand on their smartphones, those searches are much shorter than traditional desktop-based ones. QSR consumers are on-the-go; as a result, their time is limited. The first review they see for your company is likely going to be the one that they trust. If your company has a one-star rating on Google reviews, it’s very likely to steer them away from visiting your establishment, no questions asked. Your company must actively engage in online reputation management to limit this risk.

Chick-fil-A is a company that understands the importance of reputation management. Despite a few controversies over statements made by its CEO, they’ve managed to come out on top. Politics aside, Chick-fil-A is the highest ranked fast food franchise when it comes to customer satisfaction. The brand capitalizes on any complaints it receives on social media or review sites to improve their performance and better communicate with their customers, generally via mobile-based advertising.

For instance, when they saw an uptick in complaints regarding long waits, they rolled out an option on their app that allowed consumers to order food, then receive a notification when it was ready, masterfully resolving the issue. When consumers began to show interest in the nutritional content of the food, the Chick-fil-A app provided in-depth information on their menu items so customers could choose healthier alternatives.

The company consistently and diligently monitors its online reputation, then utilizes its app to resolve issues related to those complaints in a timely way. By thoroughly and quickly addressing customer complaints, with the help of mobile technology, the chain was able to gain top marks from consumers despite having a few controversies in the past.

Mobile advertising offers QSR companies something that standard advertising can’t: it allows them to target offers to consumers who are the most likely to become customers. After all, demographics might tell you that Millennials are health-focused and interested in organic offerings, but what about those Millennials who choose to visit QSR locations to indulge? Demographically-focused advertising is flawed because it paints all the members of a race, age group, or gender with the same brush. This could cause QSR companies to lose out on valuable advertising opportunities.

Data from mobile advertising, on the other hand, allows QSR companies to target individual consumers, rather than just relying on broad demographic statistics. With it, they can measure the effectiveness of rewards programs.

This is the strategy that a Chicago-based chain, Burrito Beach, implemented. The brand has an app-based loyalty program that collects consumer data on each visit for the purpose of gaining insights on who their customers actually are. This strategy allowed them to expand their overall demographic focus much more broadly than they originally anticipated.

Initially, the brand focused on young professionals on the go. However, through the data provided by their mobile program, they were able to see that the items on their menu pulled in a much more diverse crowd than expected. They were then able to use that data to create mobile advertisements that targeted specific consumer segments, rather than focusing on one generic demographic, as well as refine their menu to better cater to their entire audience.

Tying it All Together: The Best QSR Mobile Advertising Strategies

The three mobile advertising strategies detailed above can actually be seen as the three stages of a campaign. Most importantly, you must begin with a mobile-first approach. Following implementation, you must monitor your reputation to ensure that your brand is gaining the right kind of attention for your efforts. Finally, you must monitor the data of your end user to look for ways that you can improve your advertising efforts and target them to the right users.

You can accomplish these goals by partnering with a third-party shopping app. Shopping apps are designed to work with a consumer while they’re on the go. They incentivize users and offer the opportunity to improve your brand’s image by building a direct relationship with loyal customers. Finally, they provide the data you need to retarget your advertising campaigns. The best part: they allow you to take that mobile-first approach while minimizing your investment as you don’t have to create a branded proprietary app.

Many fast food chains are taking a mobile-first approach to QSR advertising as it allows their brand to stand out in the crowded industry. Often, gaining the attention of the consumer is a matter of conveniently getting your name in front of them at the right time, with the right message. By tying the three above strategies together into one campaign, your company can gain the edge in the highly competitive QSR industry.

How to take pictures of your receipts and get money using a smartphone app

Posted on December 22, 2017 by shopkick

Of all the hobbies I have, I think photography is my favorite. I’m not an expert with a camera—not by any means—but as more features and higher resolutions have been added to smartphone cameras, I’ve dabbled more and more. Image stabilizers and filters have really made it easy for even novices like me to take high-quality photos. I recently discovered portrait mode on my iPhone, and I’ve never taken such elegant and beautiful photos of my kids. Now, if I could only get them to sit still…kidding!

I think one of the reasons I’ve gotten so good with my iPhone camera is that it goes with me everywhere. My phone is always in my hand or in my purse, and my purse is always at my side. I whip my phone out at a moment’s notice to take pictures of all kinds of things, from fireworks shows to amazing scenic vistas during our last vacation in Italy—even the absolutely nuts way that the baristas sometimes jot my name on my cup at Starbucks.

I really think I could have been a photographer in another life, but, alas, I don’t get paid for my pictures…at least not in the traditional sense. But, I recently found a way to use my phone’s camera to earn rewards that translate into real money. It’s not about taking high-quality photos or participating in a 7-day black-and-white challenge, but instead, I use my phone to take a picture of my receipt and then get money back for certain purchases.

Since I have my camera with me always, this has been a very cool discovery, one that I’d like to share with you today! Not to sound like one of those lame infomercials, but just follow these two easy steps for how to take pictures of your receipts and get money…

How to Take a Picture of Receipts and Get Money Step 1: Know Your Apps

One thing that kicked my photo habit into overdrive was my life-changing discovery of Instagram. Instagram was seriously a revelation because it combines so many of the things I love: taking photos, editing photos to make them look even better, sharing photos with friends, and getting to see the very cool photos all my friends are taking! It’s so many of my favorite smartphone features rolled up into one stylish app.

Sometimes I imagine what life would be like if I’d never discovered it, which brings me to first piece of advice: know your apps. When it comes to getting money by taking a picture of a receipt, first and foremost you need to know your shopping rewards apps.

Shopping rewards apps help you make money for things you buy anyway, and I use them so much now that they have become just another part of my shopping routine. How it works is super simple:

I go shopping for groceries, electronics, clothes…you name it.
I make my purchases.
I go out to my SUV and snap a quick photo of my receipt with the shopping rewards app.
I get points for certain purchases.
When I save up enough of those points, I get money in the form of gift cards to my favorite stores.

See? Super simple!

How to Get Money by Taking Pictures of Receipts Step 2: Know the BEST Apps

Just like there are many different models of camera phones, which all have varying levels of quality, there are also different shopping rewards apps that let you take a picture of a receipt and get money for it. The one thing they all have in common is that they are capable of working the way I described above. Some, however, have other fantastic features, too.

My favorite is actually one called Shopkick, mostly because it’s far and away the most fun, but it also gives you multiple ways to earn points—points you can cash in later for gift cards to Best Buy, Target, Starbucks, Walmart, or plenty of your other favorite stores. With Shopkick, you get points, called kicks, for taking photos of your receipt, sure. But, you also get points for other things you do every time you go shopping, like simply walking into the store or finding certain products and then scanning the barcodes. You can also use it at A TON of different stores, including most of my favorites. And, if photos aren’t your thing, you can also use Shopkick to get paid for shopping online.

With Shopkick, you get points, called kicks, for taking photos of your receipt, sure. But, you also get points for other things you do every time you go shopping, like simply walking into the store or finding certain products and then scanning the barcodes.

Plus, Shopkick is fun! All my ladies are on it and we’re always trading tips about how to score the most points. When they’re not around, I like to head to Shopkick’s social media pages where I can share tips and jokes and even my favorite photos with the other Shopkickers. It helps me earn money and has introduced me to a fun community. You can’t beat that combo, amiright fellow moms?

So yes, taking artsy photos with your smartphone is great, but taking pictures of receipts and getting money is great, too—maybe even better. And shopping rewards apps make it all so easy. All you have to do is download them to your phone which, if you’re anything like me, means they’re with you everywhere—including whenever you’re out shopping. Think of it like Instagram, except that after you take a picture, you get money instead of likes!

Ready to use your smartphone to take pictures of your receipts and get money? 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 stokkete

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Nordstrom:

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Shopkick:

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Keep your resolutions this year

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The best rewards programs: A comparison for savvy shoppers

A Rewards Program Comparison of Store Brand Apps

When to use it:

Where to use it:

How it works:

Ways to save:

When to use it:

Where to use it:

How it works:

Ways to save:

When to use it:

Where to use it:

How it works:

Ways to save:

A Multi-Store Rewards Program Comparison of the Best Shopping Apps

When to use it:

Where to use it:

How it works:

Ways to save:

When to use it:

Where to use it:

How it works:

Ways to save:

When to use it:

Where to use it:

How it works:

Ways to save:

Step One to Earn Whole Foods Rewards: Familiarize Yourself with Shopping Apps

Step Two to Earn Whole Foods Rewards: Establish a Routine

The best QSR mobile advertising strategies

Mobile-First as a QSR Mobile Advertising Strategy

The Key Takeaways:

Focus on mobile over generalized web advertising:

Incentivize the program by rewarding users:

Offer a convenient experience:

Manage Your QSR’s Mobile Reputation

The Key Takeaways:

Be proactive:

Provide real results, not lip service:

Focus on the service:

Look to Data Over Demographics as QSR Mobile Advertising Strategy

The Key Takeaways:

Don’t be blinded by demographics:

Permission is paramount: