Month: April 2018

Fun apps where you can make money for shopping

Posted on by Kick Writers

I like to use a spreadsheet on my computer to keep my budget. From talking with my family and friends, I know I’m not alone. In fact, I think most everyone I know is now tracking their finances this way, and why not? It’s super handy, easy to use, and you can access it via your mobile devices from pretty much anywhere!

I’ve also learned, though, that there are ways that my particular budgeting habits stand out. I seem to be the only one who has something on her books called “The Fun Budget.” Basically, The Fun Budget is exactly what it sounds like: the money I allocate each month to having fun. These days for me that tends to be brunches with my besties, happy hour with my crew, or weekend dinners at nice restaurants with—you guessed it—my friends. What can I say? I’m a social gal!

Today, I want to talk about how social butterflies like me who can’t ever seem to get enough time with their friends can make extra money just by using fun apps where you can make money for shopping! Of course, I do have a shopping budget, which is money I set aside for clothes, groceries, household products, and more. It’s money I absolutely have to account for and, to be quite honest, it isn’t always fun to spend. But, with the apps I’m going to talk about today, shopping actually becomes a treat, while also helping me save money—money I can funnel right back into my Fun Budget!

3 Fun Apps Where You Can Make Money For Shopping

There are actually many different kinds of apps where you can make money shopping, including gig apps, rewards apps, and coupon apps that help stretch your budget. They’re generally free—and if they aren’t, I say avoid them! They’re all pretty intuitive, too, and a whole lot of fun to use! Most importantly, these are apps you can use to get money back on your purchases or even to make extra money while you’re doing your weekly shopping!

Gigwalk

Gigwalk can be a blast if you walk a lot, especially around an urban or suburban area. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt for odd jobs. The way Gigwalk works is that the app gives you a map based on your location filled with red pins. When you select these pins, odd jobs pop up. They could be things like verifying product prices at certain stores or taking pictures of retail product displays. All of the gigs can be done quickly while you’re out doing your shopping.

The fun part comes in trying to find the jobs that pay the most. The prices for jobs can range anywhere from $3 up to as much as $100 and the money you make goes directly into your PayPal account. I’ve personally only seen a $100 job on my app once or twice, and, to be totally honest, I didn’t make it in time! But that’s all part of a scavenger hunt, I suppose. Anyway, I’ve had a blast using Gigwalk while I’m out shopping. It’s even given me a chance to practice my amateur photography because most of the tasks that Gigwalk asks you to do have to be verified through photos. So, that’s fun too!

SnipSnap

SnipSnap is one of the apps that falls under the designation of coupon app. This one works a lot like paper coupons worked back in the day: you use SnipSnap to take photos of coupons that come in the newspaper or your junk mail and then the app transforms the coupons into digital, mobile-ready versions. The payment here comes in the form of the discounts you get on items you buy, letting you transfer saved money from your Shopping Budget to your Fun Budget!

I have a lot of fun using this app because it reminds me of when I was a little kid and my mom and I used to scour the paper and the mail for coupons together. (Usually while having cookies and tea!) Truth be told, most of the time when I’m using SnipSnap now, I still treat myself to cookies and tea. Anyway, you can also use SnipSnap to browse online directories of coupons your friends have snipped and, you know me, I love that kind of social element!

Shopkick

Last, but by no means least, we have my favorite of the apps where you can make money for shopping—Shopkick! The beauty and fun of Shopkick is that it basically turns the routine shopping you have to do anyway into a game. How it works is that it gives you points—called kicks—for everyday shopping routines, which you can later redeem for gift cards to your favorite stores.

For example, if you walk into featured stores, you get points; if you scan the barcodes of certain items in those stores, you get points; and when you scan your receipts after making purchases of certain items, you get even more points! It turns shopping into a fun quest for points, which add up to more savings.

You really can’t go wrong with any of the fun apps where you can make money for shopping, but, if I had to choose a favorite it would definitely be Shopkick. There are just so many different ways to earn points! And, quite honestly, the scavenger hunt setup is the most fun for me.

You really can’t go wrong with any of the fun apps where you can make money for shopping, but, if I had to choose a favorite it would definitely be Shopkick.

I’ve also had a blast engaging with other users on Shopkick’s Facebook page. There’s a really cool community of like-minded folks on there who love to share things like Shopkick tips and the latest cool meme their friends have sent. Hopefully, you’ll get hooked like I have and soon we’ll be there together, hunting for new deals and sharing ideas on how to earn even more kicks!

Looking for a fun app that lets you make money for shopping? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of Shopkickers who love the rewards of shopping with us!

Or join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and check in every day on your phone, no matter where you are, to learn about the hottest, newest deals.

Image courtesy Jirapong Manustrong

The top factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions you haven’t considered

Posted on by Kick Writers

Throughout the history, two primary factors have influenced consumer decision making: the internal and external locus of control. Those with an internal locus of control attribute their success to their own practices and abilities. Those with an external locus of control attribute success or failure to fate and external forces.

factors that influence consumer purchasing decisionsThese beliefs and practices can extend all the way to of marketing, and to how consumers purchase decisions are influenced by external and internal opinions. External opinions are related to the social perception of your brand, and what influencers in the consumers’ peer group think of the brand. Internal opinions are based on the consumer’s existing brand perception, as well as their emotional mindset when entering the path to purchase.

When attempting to influence consumer purchasing decisions, marketers need to focus on a combination of these two factors. Multiple tactics make this possible. For instance, marketers can either connect with a consumer one-on-one by sending a marketing message directly to them. Or, they can connect with consumers indirectly by first reaching influential members of the consumer’s peer group. Mobile marketing can be used in either situation to improve brand perception, connect with influencers and interact with consumers as they’re in the shopping aisle, and even help convert prospects into sales.

Social Groups As Factors That Influence Consumer Purchasing Decisions

Brands can’t make someone influential, but they can leverage an influential person to improve perception of the brand. This is why celebrity endorsements have become such a common method for reaching consumers. Yet even non-famous people act as influencers in their daily lives.

Consumers will have different levels of influence based on three group dynamic systems:

  • Reference group: A reference group is any group a consumer uses to model their behavior. As these groups evolve and change, the consumer’s behavior may also change. As an example, a consumer’s spending habits will be different when they’re with a group of single friends than when they’re with couples with children.
  • Family group: The role a person plays within a household will determine their spending habits. A mother purchasing for her family, for example, will likely be more price conscious than that woman’s teenage daughter.
  • Social status: This is the classic example of “keeping up with the Joneses” where a person of higher social standing often becomes the trendsetter their group. If a member leaves the group or a new person is added, social standings typically change within the group, too. Very generally, a new addition to a social group will hold less sway over the opinions in that group than an established member.

Depending on the group we choose to spend time with, our sphere of influence changes. For example, a woman may have a high sphere of influence when it comes to the purchase decisions of her household. At the same time, she may be a new member of her social group, giving her a lower sphere of influence over the purchase behaviors of those friends. In either case, spending decisions are impacted by those around us.

When brands want to leverage an individual’s social influence, they need to reach out to those with the most influence over the specific groups associated with that product. One of the best means of achieving this is through social media, which can provide brands the insights needed to identify ideal influencers. By understanding how someone impacts the groups they are a part of, brands can better target those customers who act as influencers in their social pools. These influencers can be reached individually with timely marketing messages delivered via mobile apps.

How Mobile Moments Influence Consumer Purchasing Decisions

The simplest and subtlest influences can impact consumer purchase decisions on a personal level. One watershed study revealed that when a supermarket played French music, French wine outsold all other wines. When German music was played, consumers opted for German selections. This study into subconscious level advertising laid the groundwork for the future of advertising and revealed just how impactful a single moment can be when a consumer is already in the shopping aisle.

Today, brands can create these moments through smartphones, connecting with consumers at any time, and wherever they may be. There are several ways brands can connect with individuals as they go about their daily lives:

  • Branded video content: Not all video content has to be advertising. Brands can better interact with consumers by offering content that reveals how to use products or gives an inside look at the company, for example. To make the most of this kind of subconscious messaging, a brand should ensure its logo is visible in the video and provide a call to action capable of converting passive viewers into buyers. Even among those who aren’t ready to purchase these cues stick. They also help establish the brand as an authority and can serve as an unconscious reminder of the brand when future purchasing opportunities arise.
  • Interactive mobile displays: Displays that encourage consumers to interact with products in the store are great options for gaining attention to a brand as they draw consumers to its products and encourage them to learn more. An interactive display may be as simple as providing product samples. Or, it may be more complex, like a makeup company providing product demonstrations via a touchscreen tablet or offering consumers the ability to digitally try on products via their smartphone.
  • Mobile apps: Mobile apps, like Shopkick, travel with consumers and can reach them when they’re most motivated to make a purchase. By incentivizing consumers’ visits via a mobile rewards program, such shopping apps can drive traffic. Take, for example, the case of a QSR working with Shopkick that wants to increase traffic to a location during midday. A consumer using the app during her lunch break who receives a notification of rewards available at the QSR is more likely to choose that location to dine.
  • Rewarded video: When trying to get consumers to watch advertising content, incentivizing them to watch to completion has been proven highly effective. Consumers who receive rewards for watching a video will be more receptive to the brand’s message, which can also lead to sales.

All of these moments can best be leveraged through a mobile app marketing campaign. Smartphones offer brands unparalleled access to consumers and even allow those brands to connect with them as they travel.

Both external and internal opinions of your brand act as factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions. Understanding these factors, as well as group dynamics, helps marketers reach the right influencers in the right circles.

In addition, using retail mobile apps can be a powerful means of connecting with a consumer when they’re in a buying mindset. Connecting with key influencers through mobile apps allows brands to create affinity, capitalize on powerful moments in the decision cycle, and even sway consumer purchase decisions.

Shopkick offers our partners a great way to connect with shoppers through an innovative shopping app. To learn more about how our app can benefit your brand, contact us.

Image courtesy of onephoto

Posted in b2b

Refresh your home for Spring with big kicks from Kohls.com

Posted on by Kick Writers

Spring has sprung, but it’s not too late for a spring refresh. From silky new sheets to plush towels, you’ll find everything you need to make your home feel fresh and new at Kohls.com.

Plus, for a limited time, earn 10 kicks per $1 spent when you shop through the Shopkick app. That’s more than five times the normal kicks!

Spring refresh

Find great deals on home décor, clothing, and more for the whole family online Kohl’s online. Open the Shopkick app and check out some of our favorite finds for fresh bedding, chic furniture, stylish accents, and more!

bedding home decor from kohls.com

Don’t have Shopkick yet? Download it now to join start earning rewards!

Happy shopkicking!

Posted in b2c

The CPG ecommerce trends shaping the 2018 consumer packaged goods landscape

Posted on by Kick Writers

The CPG ecommerce trends shaping the 2018 consumer packaged goods landscape

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Now is a very important time for the consumer packaged goods industry, as the CPG ecommerce trends taking shape in 2018 will impact the entire market for years to come. These trends have already altered the customer’s path to purchase and have made room for new market entrants. Now, challenger brands are better able to compete with big household names, as they’re capable of connecting with the growing market of online-focused consumers. The current climate of change in the CPG industry means that brands must be prepared to use ecommerce to gain online sales and drive brick-and-mortar business.

CPG brands used to be heavily invested in brand recognition, but as consumer loyalty shifts, recognition alone is no longer as powerful as it once was. Instead, consumers are seeking  alternatives to popular brands, and big name brand recognition is becoming less of a deciding factor in the path to purchase. Tech also increasingly plays a role. To reach consumers who have the option to choose between myriad options, and who demand the convenience of ecommerce purchasing, brands should also deliver high tech experiences as part of their CPG marketing.

Ecommerce is Essential to CPG Brands

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) is a growing market for ecommerce sales. Online sales in this category jumped to $74 billion last fiscal year due to both new market entrants and increased global access. While online sales makes up only a fraction of the $771 billion market, it also represents high growth in the segment. Online sales were responsible for 90% of the CPG market’s overall growth.

What we can understand from such data is:

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Ecommerce has the highest growth potential:

Since the majority of growth in the CPG industry occurred via online channels, it is clearly where brands can focus when looking to reach new markets. Ecommerce also makes it possible for consumers in remote global regions to connect with brands, a huge area of opportunities for CPGs.

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New markets begin online:

Many new markets are emerging in CPG ecommerce, including offerings like meal prep kits and online groceries, both of which are major contributors to the increases seen in fast moving consumer goods. Ecommerce has opened up a wealth of services and products that many consumers had never considered purchasing online before.

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Online CPG ordering is moving toward the mainstream:

The rapid growth of purchases of small, inexpensive items online indicates that consumers are growing more comfortable with paying for shipping and waiting on delivery.

These three factors are significant for the CPG industry as a whole. In the past, consumers were less enthusiastic about making small purchases online, due to shipping costs. At the same time, it was a lose-lose scenario for retailers, as offering ecommerce for small, low-cost items was an expense that outweighed the benefit. As shipping costs decreased and online purchases increased, this market became a prime place for ecommerce growth. Much of this can be attributed to how ecommerce changed the consumer’s path to purchase.

A Revision of the Consumer’s Path to Purchase

In the past, the path to purchase was very straightforward: Demand for a product led to brand discovery; brand discovery led to interest, which was followed by purchase. However, this process has become increasingly complex in the digital marketplace. Essentially, the entire course has become cyclical.

The new steps that have become very prominent throughout it are:

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Roundabout to word-of-mouth:

Consumers often discover their need for a brand or product as a result of an online discussion. Consider the case of a forum for new mothers, where one mother asks for advice on diaper rash. Another mother may recommend a specific cream or ointment, which could drive a discussion of the brand.

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In-store evaluations:

Based on a Nielsen study, 75% of grocery shoppers have used a physical store to evaluate a product before purchasing it online. Consumers may be increasing their online purchasing, but that doesn’t change their desire to physically interact with products.

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Plan:

Whether they’re shopping online or shopping in a store, consumers purchasing CPG items tend to plan their shopping trips in advance, which means brands must optimize their ecommerce experience to ensure it works equally well in connecting with consumers in the shopping aisle as it does in connecting with them online.

Another thing about these steps is that they can occur at different points in the path to purchase. A consumer may plan to purchase a product, then discuss it online, then evaluate it, then discuss it again before making a purchase. This change in the path to purchase is largely due to technology, but also a reflection on growing shopper demographics.

Changing Demographic Desires in the Marketplace

In the broadest of terms, different generations are motivated to make CPG purchases for different reasons. While not all members of one demographic will behave the same, studies have shown that certain behaviors can be anticipated based on overall generational preferences. For instance, grocery sales are often driven by CPG sales, and trends in the grocery market reveal both which generations spend the most on CPG, and how they make purchase decisions:

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Silents:

These individuals, age 72 and up, are often motivated by value. They are also less likely than any of the other groups to embrace technology in shopping. Ironically, they’d be the most likely to benefit from this technology, due to issues with physical mobility and travel.

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Baby Boomers and Generation X:

Together, these generations spend the most on groceries. Both are also considered proficient in technology as they’re likely to use it in their jobs. These groups are likely to look to ecommerce when seeking information on CPG products, although for the most part will continue to make CPG purchases at brick-and-mortar locations.

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Millennials:

While they don’t spend as much on groceries as Generation X and Boomers, they are highly motivated to use technology while shopping. That makes ecommerce an area of high potential in this demographic. In addition, millennials often use their mobile phones while in brick-and-mortar locations to assist them in making purchase decisions. A shopping app, like Shopkick, can be used to connect with these tech-driven consumers, both online and off.

Data around grocery sales are important as they tell us who is doing the shopping in the household and where they’re buying. These statistics show us whether CPG consumers prefer ecommerce or in-store purchasing and, specifically, what they demand from brands. Challenger brands commonly leverage consumer demand to gain market CPG share.

Online Access Drives the Rise of Challenger Brands

Challenger brands are unique. While they may not be market leaders, challenger brands are able to connect with consumers to gain market share. Part of the reason these brands are emerging as competition to larger brands is because growth of ecommerce has given them access to new markets. These brands may not offer a new product, but they may offer it in a new way, which gives them the ability to challenge even the largest names in the market.

Because the Internet evens the playing field between challengers and big brands, CPG challenger brands thrive on ecommerce platforms. They may not have the funding of big brands, but challengers can get by on a grassroots campaign by using the digital space to share their message. They can also take a direct-to-consumer approach, allowing them to provide customers the personalized shopping experience they crave, and earning the brand consumer loyalty.

Consider Lavazza Coffee, a high-end Italian coffee brand that was able to gain attention in the U.S. market by connecting directly with consumers. While the brand had a significant following in its home country of Italy, it struggled to gain a foothold in the crowded U.S. market.

The brand took a direct-to-consumer approach and connected with their target demographics at events and in privileged settings. Lavazza partnered with both the U.S. Open and the Guggenheim Museum in New York to “create an aura of eliteness.” At the events, the company offered branded packaging, like cups and napkins, which could be used to direct consumers to its website to make direct sales. The brand left the digital space to connect with their consumers in their places.

Lavazza is able to compete in the highly competitive U.S. coffee market strategies such as:

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Focus on the consumer:

The brand connects directly with consumers by sponsoring high-end events and then uses them to drive sales both at online stores and through retailers like Target and the Seattle Coffee Company.

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Position brand as elite:

Lavazza has a higher price point than other coffees and uses its Italian background to set itself apart from other high-end coffee brands.

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Educating consumers:

On the brand’s ecommerce site, consumers can review the blends and learn about things like coffee profiles, roasting styles, and intensity ratings. Consumers don’t go to the site only to buy coffee, but also to learn about coffee from industry experts.

Lavazza doesn’t ignore brick-and-mortar locations in favor of ecommerce, but connects with the right audience in the right place. As a result, it is able to challenge big U.S. based coffee companies even when Lavazza’s product is at a higher price point.

How CPG Ecommerce Trends Impact Brick-And-Mortar Shoppers

Brick-and-mortar can act as a pathway to ecommerce—and vice versa. For example, a consumer may discover a product in an ecommerce site and then decide they want to see it in the store before they make a purchase. Or, they may seek out an ecommerce product and not want to wait for shipping, so they go to the store instead. There’s also a hybrid of this where a consumer will order an item online and pick it up in store.

All of these methods show us that ecommerce isn’t just an access point for product purchase but is a route to product discovery. Brands can gain consumer attention by delivering experiences that work equally well in the digital world as they do in the physical one and thereby make the most of both markets.

One way to deliver experiences that work in both the real world and the digital world is through the use of retail shopping apps, like Shopkick. A good shopping app can allow a brand to incentivize purchases both at online stores and in brick-and-mortar locations. Shopkick uses this multi-channel strategy by allowing consumers to gain rewards, known as kicks, for interacting with brands in-store or for viewing specific content, like advertisements, online. This hybrid approach works well for addressing consumers in the CPG market, whose purchase avenues have grown extensively in the past few years.

CPG brands are often challenged by the direct-to-consumer approach as these brands have primarily focused on selling through retailers. However, the things that attract consumers in a store are the same things that attract them to ecommerce. They also enjoy being rewarded for interacting with brands.

These emerging CPG ecommerce trends do not have to act as industry disruptors. Instead, they allow CPG brands to enhance their relationships with customers and create true brand affinity, whether that consumer is ordering directly from a brand or through an online retailer. The largest potential for market growth in CPG is based on marketing to tech-savvy consumers who buy these products many different ways. Using shopping apps to assist consumers through the new, more complex path to purchase is the best way to leverage these CPG ecommerce trends.

Shopkick helps our partners in the CPG industry stand out in the crowded ecommerce space. To gain consumer attention on our platform, contact us.

Posted in b2b

The 8 best shopping list apps for saving money

Posted on by Kick Writers

The 8 best shopping list apps for saving money

A few years back, I thought I knew everything there was to know about how to save money while grocery shopping. I guess you could say I was cocky, but I thought I was a pro at things like clipping coupons, finding the best prices at certain stores, and knowing which grocery items and household products to buy in bulk.

Then, technology caught up with me—and my world turned upside down. I discovered the shopping rewards app, apps that you download to your smartphone and use to save money when you’re out shopping. Some of them function like electronic versions of coupon clipping, others are branded apps offered by retail stores, and then there are the third-party apps that give you points you can trade for rewards when you buy featured products. As someone who has long been interested in saving money on everything from groceries to toiletries to clothes, I have since made it my mission to familiarize myself with shopping rewards apps.

If you’ve never heard of these apps, don’t worry! I’m going to share with you my list of the very best shopping list apps and the ways you can (and should!) use them to save money. Maybe you’re like I used to be—you think you know all there is to know about running a tight shopping budget. Maybe you’ve gotten cocky, too. Well, take it from someone who’s been there: There’s always more to know!

Essential Features of the Top Shopping List Apps

For the uninitiated, a shopping list app is exactly what it sounds like: an app that helps you make a shopping list. These apps also have a number of wide-ranging features but, what’s most important in my opinion, is that any of them can help you save money on your bill—if you learn how to make the most of them.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the most valuable features all the best shopping list apps for saving money should have, including:

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Sales and price notifications:

This is a pretty basic one, but vital nonetheless! You can find shopping list apps that let you know when something is on sale as you’re making your list. That way you can plan to stock up on sale items to really maximize your savings!

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List suggestions based on shopping history:

All of the best shopping list apps for saving money are also valuable when it comes to saving time. To that end, they are also generally capable of saving your past lists so that you don’t have to start from scratch each time you go to the store. I personally tend to buy the same items at Target or at my local grocer week after week, so this makes the whole list process so much quicker!

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Prices:

All of my favorite shopping list apps for saving money also let you know how much an item costs when you put it on your list. That way you never go to the store and find a nasty pricing surprise. Instead, you can plan ahead and choose a different item.

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Search Features to Find New Products:

Have you ever seen an advertisement for a product, or come across it at a friend’s house, and wanted to put it on your next shopping list? Well, these apps can help you with that. Most of them have search features! Just type in the name of the product and, within moments, you can get a description and a price, both of which are useful when deciding whether or not you actually want to try out a new product.

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Offers Rewards:

Of the many features I look for in these apps, this is my favorite. To be honest, it’s also the most effective at saving you money! The best shopping list apps out there also double as shopping rewards apps, allowing you to make a list of the products you need to buy, and then also giving you points that you can trade in later for free gift cards.

To sum it up, you save money using shopping list apps because you can plan your list ahead of time, look for sale notifications, and then save a second time by earning rewards points when you make your purchases. It’s like doubling your coupon savings!

The 8 Best Shopping List Apps for Saving Money

You probably wouldn’t be reading this right now if you didn’t appreciate a good list. So, let’s take a look at the best shopping list apps for saving you money!

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Avocadolist:

Avocadolist is one of those shopping list apps that saves you money by first and foremost saving you time. In addition to having a fun and easy-to-use interface, Avocadolist actually sorts and organizes the items on your grocery list into categories, grouping them as they’re most likely to be organized in the physical store. This totally helps you get in and out of the grocer fast so you can get on with your busy day.

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Bring! Grocery Shopping List:

Bring! is a cool app because it has many of the must-have qualities of the best shopping list apps. And, it’s also collaborative! With Bring! you can share your list with friends, family, and coworkers, which helps save you money if, for example, you’re having a big party. With Bring! you can split up exactly who buys what. It’s great for roommates, too.

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ChefTap:

If you want to get technical about it, I guess you could call ChefTap a recipe app. However, it also allows you to organize the groceries you need to make the recipes on the app. One of its best features is the ability to save your previous lists. With ChefTap, if you make a recipe and enjoy it, you can then save that list and load it for easy access in the future. If time is indeed money, ChefTap can help you save that way, too. It’s one of the rare shopping list apps that tells you where you can physically find ingredients for its recipes in your local grocery store.

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Favado:

Favado has a cool name that makes it sound elegant, like a fancy wine. As it turns out, the features of the app are indeed somewhat fancy! With Favado you can search by specific products, like “frozen vegetables” or “cleaning solutions.” Then, as you make your list, you can scroll through all the best deals at your local grocery stores for those items.

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Flipp:

Flipp is a neat app that allows its users to find the best deals on groceries by matching deals that appear in local print ads with coupons. It’s 100% paperless, too. With Flipp, you can make a list and then the app will scan ads that have been printed online to find and alert you to deals. The app will then offer you electric coupons that you can use to save on your bill.

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Grocery Pal:

Of all the best shopping list apps for saving money, I think it might be pretty safe to characterize Grocery Pal as one of the most intuitive. It has a somewhat unique functionality that actually allows it to comb through all the prices at your local grocers and discount shops to create a list of items that are currently providing the best values. It’s a very useful functionality for those of us who just so happen to be on a budget!

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Our Groceries Shopping List:

Our Groceries features sale notifications, search functionality, and the ability to load your lists from previous shopping outings, as well as a collaborative element that makes it ideal for shoppers who split up duties and bills with spouses or roommates. With Our Groceries, you and your cooking partner can throw items on a shared list and also cross them off in real time, maximizing your joint shopping efficiency!

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Shopkick:

I try not to play favorites, but when it comes to the best shopping list apps for saving money, there’s definitely one that stands out as my preferred go-to: Shopkick. It’s actually the only app on our list that has all of the features we discussed above. As soon as you open it, there’s list of popular stores there on the homescreen – close by to where you are, or online. Once you find the items you need and tag them in your list, Shopkick shows you how many rewards points you can earn by buying it. It’s so easy to use.

The best part about Shopkick, though, is that it combines your list with opportunities to save and earn free stuff. Shopkick gives you points—called kicks—for the shopping behaviors you do every time you go to the store anyhow, things like buying the products on your list, scanning barcodes of certain items for more info, and even just walking into certain shops. Then, you can turn those kicks into gift cards to your favorite stores! Plus, because it’s kind of like a scavenger hunt for points, Shopkick makes shopping fun, too! How great is that?!

Ultimately, all of these are great shopping list apps for saving money, but if you could only choose one, I’d say to go with Shopkick. The thing is, it’s not just one of the best shopping list apps for saving money, but it’s also one of the best free smartphone apps that pay you money, period. And, there’s a lot of competition out there for that title! Believe me, I know; I’ve definitely shopped around.

The thing about Shopkick is that not only does it check all of the boxes when it comes to great features, it also has the best rewards programs. With Shopkick, there are so many fun and different ways to earn rewards points that every trip out to the store turns into a little scavenger hunt for savings. You can’t put a price on that! Not even when you’re using one of these apps.

Get one of the best shopping list apps for saving money. 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.

Posted in b2c

How to Get Free Kicks on Shopkick

Posted on by Kick Writers

For as long as there have been apps, there have been hacks for apps. In fact, my one friend—let’s call him Shady Jay, he’d like that—is always telling me about them. I’m more into tech and apps than anyone else in our friend group, so I’ll bring up an app and Shady Jay will say, “But, hey dude, did you know there’s also a hack for that?” At this point, it’s kind of like our own little comedy routine.

this is how to get free kicks on shopkickI’m really into this one shopping rewards app called Shopkick. For those who haven’t heard of it before, how it works is that Shopkick gives out points for the things you do already whenever you go shopping. You then redeem those points for gift cards to your favorite stores. I’m kind of obsessed with Shopkick, and I talk about it all the time. So, there I was telling all my friends about it yet again, when Shady Jay said, “But, hey dude, did you know there’s also a hack for that?” I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and told him that, yes, I know plenty of ways to score tons of points with Shopkick.

That’s what I want to talk about today: how to get free kicks on Shopkick. There’s a lot of variety here in how to grab a ton of kicks—which is what Shopkick calls its points—for minimal amounts of energy. Also, if you start to follow some of the advice I’m about to lay out, you may just start talking about Shopkick all the time, too!

How to Get Free Kicks On Shopkick for the Least Effort

The thing about Shopkick is that it gives you points for making purchases—and a lot more. You can also earn kicks for scanning items in a store to get more info, and sometimes even just for walking into a store! In fact, since I’ve started using Shopkick, I think I’ve racked up more points by scanning items and just walking into stores than I have for making actual purchases (though I get quite a few points for that too).

In my experience, the best way to get free kicks on Shopkick is to make a point of planning ahead to figure out which stores and offers give you the most points for the least amount of effort. Sometimes, what I like to do before heading out shopping, is to check which stores have the most scannable items for kicks, and then prioritize going to that store.

How to Get Free Kicks on Shopkick by Shopping Online

One of the things I’ve always loved about Shopkick is that it gives you ways to earn points for both shopping at a brick-and-mortar store and for shopping online. Let me share what I’ve learned about how to get free kicks on Shopkick for shopping online. I’ve been a huge online shopper since online shopping became a thing, so I’m more comfortable shopping there, anyway.

Just like shopping at your local shop, though, there are plenty of ways to earn points quickly for shopping online, and some of them don’t even involve spending money. Here are my favorites:

  • Watch videos on your phone: Open the Shopkick app each morning and earn kicks while you have your coffee. Simply visit the Discover tab to see what’s playing today.  Also, perusing Shopkick’s lookbooks might just inspire your next gift or makeover… as well as contain an “instant surprise” kick for free!
  • Make purchases on your phone: One of the great things about using Shopkick on your mobile phone for online shopping is that you often don’t even have to buy specific products. Sites such as Etsy, Overstock, Amazon Fashion, Booking, Hotels.com, and many, many more give you kicks for every dollar you spend. Isn’t that a great thing?
  • Make purchases on your computer: Go to www.shopkick.com and log in using the same credentials you use to log into the app. Here, you’ll find plenty of additional stores, some of which are easier (and more fun) to purchase from via computer rather than phone—like Macy’s and JC Penney.
    Shopping on both the computer and your phone means more convenience, more variety, and of course… more kicks!

The All-Time Best Strategy for How to Get Free Kicks on Shopkick

Honestly, though, the all-time best strategy for how to get free kicks on Shopkick is to make sure that you use it each and every time you go shopping. And that’s easy given how easy and how convenient and fun it is to use! You get points for walking into stores, points for scanning certain items for more info, and points, of course, for making purchases. It really does turn every trip into a fun scavenger hunt for points. Consistency is key though: The more you use it, the more the kicks start to add up. And, of course, more kicks equal more gift cards and savings!

So, there you have it, plenty of great ways how to get free kicks on Shopkick, and I didn’t even have to borrow any of them from good old Shady Jay. These are all hacks from my own personal repertoire.

Get to know the many different ways to get free kicks on Shopkick and start collecting gift cards today. Download Shopkick’s free app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how much you can earn with the help of a free shopping sidekick.

And, if you’re on social media catching up with friends, be sure to also join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy Kurhan

Rewarding consumer experiences anytime, anywhere

Posted on by Kick Writers

Bill Demas, Chief Executive Officer

Our vision as a company is to create rewarding consumer experiences for our users anytime, anywhere. We are taking another step in fulfilling that vision today by releasing a web version of Shopkick. This gives users more ways to earn kicks and discover new products, brands and services.

For our partners, the expansion to desktop completes our omnichannel solution, offering deeper insight into consumer behavior across channels and throughout the fragmented shopping journey. Brands and retailers now have the opportunity to reward our users for shopping across desktop, mobile and brick and mortar.

Launch partners include Walmart, Macy’s, Groupon, JCPenney, Sephora, Sam’s Club, Payless, the Body Shop, Stride Rite, Ann Taylor, Loft, Nordstrom, Francesca’s, Lane Bryant, Foot Locker, Sur La Table, and See’s Candies. In addition, we continue to expand our online merchants in the Shopkick app. Most recently we have added Asos, eBags, Etsy, Fandango, the Home Shopping Network, Hulu, Lane Bryant, and Living Social.

Stay tuned for more announcements coming soon on our exciting product roadmap! To learn more about our new e-commerce offering, get in touch at [email protected].

If you have any feedback on this new initiative or any other Shopkick omnichannel solution, send me your thoughts at [email protected].

How to scan your grocery receipt for cash back

Posted on by Kick Writers

I spent years clipping coupons. They’d come to me two ways: in flyers that came in the mail, and in my Sunday paper. I’d stack them all up, sit down with a cup of tea and a pair of scissors, and go through them methodically, snipping my favorites, which I’d then tuck into a coupon organizer that I kept in my purse.

scan grocery receipt cash backWhat can I say? It was a great way to save money during college, and then during my early twenties, and then right up until the present when I have a family of my own and three growing boys. It pains me to say it, but recently I had to retire this old practice. Not because I stopped wanting to save money (never!) but because new technology gave me other ways to save. Now, I’ve moved on to scanning my grocery receipts for cash back.

If you’ve never heard of this marvel, don’t worry. It’s a relatively new way to save, one that’s been made possible largely by shopping rewards apps. Basically, how this all works is that after you’re done shopping you just take a quick second to scan your grocery receipt, and in exchange, you get points you can later trade for cash or gift cards! No coupons necessary. I know it’s a new concept, which is why I’d like to spend a bit of time today explaining how you can scan your own grocery receipts for cash back, too!

The 411: How to Scan Grocery Receipts and Get Cash Back

The single most important thing to know about how to scan your grocery receipt for cash back is that you need an app that turns your receipts into cash back. There are a variety of these apps on the market, but the best are shopping rewards apps, which give you cash back or gift cards for the shopping you do anyway. That includes, of course, scanning your grocery receipts. Also, you want an app that gives you many different opportunities to earn points, that you’re able to use at your favorite stores, and that is a blast to use.

Once you have the app that’s right for you, the rest is quite easy. You just open the app, choose the store receipt you want to scan, and point your smartphone at the receipt. Voila!

To Turn Grocery Receipts Into More Cash Back, Make a Routine

Back in my coupon clipping days, I’d generally save anywhere from $.50 to $10 a week. In and of itself, that doesn’t seem like a lot of money. However, I was not just an occasional coupon clipper, I was a regular, and over a year that can add up. Maybe $52 a year isn’t much, but $520? That can make a huge dent in your budget!

These days, I find the key to scanning grocery receipts for the most cash back is consistency. In order to establish a habit, I just made scanning my grocery receipt a part of my regular shopping routine. Now, whenever I finish shopping, I take a moment in my car to use one of the top retail shopping apps for cash back to scan my receipt right then and there. I make sure I do it before I even leave the parking lot. In the beginning, it took a little patience and remembering, but now I hardly even give it a second thought. I just crank up the tunes and scan away!

For the Most Cash Back From Grocery Receipts, Set Goals

Another tactic from my old couponing days that has proven useful with these news apps is setting savings goals. I remember back when I was sitting down with my stack of ads every Sunday, I’d make a little game out of my savings by setting a goal. Usually, I’d put it at $8, but sometimes if I was busy I’d drop it down to $6, or if I was feeling especially ambitious I’d up it to as much as $20!

I’ve always loved a good challenge, and so setting goals like this was an engaging way to make sure I stuck to my coupon cutting routine. These days I’ve made scanning my grocery receipts for cash back a major part of my shopping routine, but I still like to challenge myself. As I’ll show you in the next section, all my favorite rewards apps give you fun points for your purchases, so what I like to do now is set a goal of a certain amount of points and see if each week I can beat it! Feel free, of course, to develop your own system that works for you.

Make the Most of Scanning Grocery Receipts for Cash Back With the Right App

In my opinion, the absolute best shopping rewards app is called Shopkick, and how it works is simple: Shopkick gives you points for your normal everyday shopping activities, including walking into stores, scanning the barcodes on certain items for more information and—of course!—making purchases and scanning your receipts. You can then trade those points for gift cards to your favorite stores. It’s as simple as that!

Shopkick gives you points for your normal everyday shopping activities, including walking into stores, scanning the barcodes on certain items for more information and—of course!—making purchases and scanning your receipts.

It’s quite a bit easier to navigate than the old coupon clipping system was, and I have a ton of fun with Shopkick. I’m always setting points goals for the week, and then beating them, whether I’m doing it by scanning my receipts, by scanning the barcodes of certain items in the store, or by combining the many different ways there are to earn points.

Scanning my grocery receipt for cash back with Shopkick has become just a part of my everyday shopping routine, and I hope that with everything you’ve learned, it becomes part of yours, too. I remember way back when I clipped coupons I’d see other shoppers at the store with their little binders of coupons, too. Now I see them using Shopkick instead and it warms my heart!

Ready to have some fun scanning your grocery receipt for cash back? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how rewarding—and fun—shopping with us 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 stokkete

How to get Shopkick points fast and earn a gift card a month

Posted on by Kick Writers

So you’ve been Shopkicking for a while now, and you’re wondering if there are ways to improve your game. Did you know that some Shopkickers consistently earn enough kicks for a free gift card a month?

how to get Shopkick points fastWhether you’re saving up for a big payout for the holidays, a birthday, or a family vacation; you want to reduce your Walmart, Target, or Amazon bill each month; or you just like to treat yourself to a fancy Starbucks drink every week, take a hint from some master Shopkickers. Here are there top tips on how to get Shopkick points fast—and earn a gift card a month!

10 Top Pro Tips to Get Shopkick Points Fast and Earn a Gift Card a Month

1: Make A Plan

Go with a mission in mind.

Christy McElwain from Ohio plans her shopping trip around kicks in advance. “I make a plan before I leave the house. I end up doing a big circle and I don’t end up wasting time or additional gas.”

Donna Panelli from California makes a list of scans in the same order as her grocery list, and maps that list out based on their locations in the store.

“If you want to go a step further,” notes Melissa Barker from Dallas, TX, “you can add the kick items to your shopping list with an asterisk* to make sure you don’t miss a thing!”

Becky Kaloczi from Ohio tackles Best Buy by focusing on a few key areas, such as video games, small appliances, and electronics. By doing so, she says she can get in and out with 100 scans in an hour!

2: Team Up to Get Shopkick Points Fast

Go Shopkicking with your friends and family to rack up kicks more quickly.

Virginia Doyle-Diamond from Navarre, FL says, “Go Shopkicking with a friend who also has Shopkick. You can find kicks faster by telling each other which aisle certain products are on.”

Cheryl Avery Bigelow from Las Vegas, NV recruits her kids to help track down where products are located in the store as a scavenger hunt. “Not only do I get kicks,” she says, “but it makes shopping fun for my kids.”

Shopkicker Doug Miller from West Palm Beach, FL has even teamed up with other Shopkickers he’s met in the aisle! “The most fun I ever had Shopkicking was at a Target in Palm Beach,” he says. “We met another couple doing the same thing, teamed up, and got through several hundred kicks in record time. The four of us went out for drinks afterward and laughed ourselves silly comparing each other’s Shopkick stories.”

3: Get Your Invite Kicks

You can get Shopkick points fast kicks by inviting friends, making it one of the speediest ways to earn a gift card a month. If you’re going to recruit friends and family to go kicking together, don’t forget to have them download using your referral code—and get your kicks for inviting them!

Lara Gonzaga from Fort Worth, TX even earns an extra 250 kicks when she’s out Shopkicking by telling others about it in the aisle. “While you’re out Shopkicking, start asking people close by if they have the app,” she says. “If they say no, tell them briefly about it and send them an invite to join right there in person!”

4: Make It a Habit

Nicole Cribbs from North Carolina says, “It only takes 21 days to form a new habit. You just have to get in the habit of checking Shopkick every time you walk into a store!”

Shopkicker Diane Kesel from Syracuse, NY starts her morning by checking Shopkick alongside her coffee.

Carolyn Brown from North Carolina recommends checking the app wherever you are. You never know when there could be a store close to the gym, office, or whatever, and “you never know when you might land those jumbo kicks,” she says.

5: Make Shopkick Part of Your Workout

The best way to make Shopkicking part of your routine? Make it part of your fitness routine!

Susie from Sarasota is walking her way to 10,000 steps and kicks on the weekends. “Shopkick is my cardio” is her mantra, and she loves to get rewarded with free gift cards for all the steps she puts in while on scan missions.

Got a full day planned for getting those steps in alongside your kicks? Kyle Jackson from Ocoee, FL says don’t forget to “wear comfortable walking or running shoes!” 😉

6: Create a Date Night

We know of at least one husband and wife team that makes every Friday night a shopkicking date night.

Suzanne McLaughlin Reil from Titusville, FL and her husband even make a full day of it. “We first hit our local stores to grab everything we can, then head to East Orlando (about 30 minutes away) to do a movie, meal, and Shopkick some more,” she says. Suzanne and her husband often finish their date off with a treat at Starbucks using their kicks for a gift card.

7: Go for the Big Kicks

If you haven’t linked your card or aren’t doing your online shopping through Shopkick yet, you could be missing out on major kicks every time you make a purchase.

Michele Carrera Patterson from San Diego says, “make sure all your cards are linked. I get a lot of kicks by using my debit and credit cards!”

Susan Perryman from Los Angeles, CA (she even works at Shopkick) also scores major kicks when booking her travel on Hotels.com and Booking.com through Shopkick.

It’s no surprise—travel can often account for some of your biggest purchases, so why not get kicks every time you book?

8: Don’t Forget the Discover Tab

Pro Shopkickers know never to miss new kicks in the Discover tab.

“Check your app daily and use the Discover section to gain a few kicks,” says Surbhi Kasbaum from Orange County, CA.

As a bonus, Shopkicker Wendy Chan from California says that while scrolling through Shopkick for surprise kicks she often learns about latest trends. “I find some awesome products that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.”

9: Make Sure Your Alerts Are On

Don’t you hate it when you leave a store and realize you forgot to take your app out? Make sure your Shopkick notifications are on so you receive handy reminders to open the app when there are kicks nearby!

“I always have my notifications on so I can be notified that I’m able to get kicks while shopping,” says one Shopkicker.

10: Have Fun

Finally, a Shopkicker from Brooklyn, NY says: “The best tip I can give is to just HAVE FUN while Shopkicking!”

We couldn’t agree more!

Want to jumpstart your plan to earn a gift card a month? Login now, refer a friend, and start getting Shopkick points fast!

Image courtesy Ivanko80