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.
“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.
