This year, the most effective fast food marketing strategies have relied heavily on technology to meet customer demand. Continue reading “The top 3 fast food marketing strategies for 2018”
Year: 2018
The best cash back apps for shoppers
There’s a learning curve to many things in life. Take my spin class, for example. As a jogger, before I started I was a bit skeptical. How much exercise could you really get while sitting on a bike? Still, I went to my first class determined to sweat, and sweat I did. I pedaled, and pedaled, and pedaled so furiously—even when the instructor told us to slow down—that I just about fainted right out of my seat. Turns out spin class was hard, just as hard as jogging if not harder, and there was a learning curve I had to conquer.
That’s true of many things in life (ahem, dating), even simple things like finding the best cash back apps. That’s what I want to help straighten out today, though: how shoppers can choose the best cash back apps. On the surface, you might assume one is as good as the next, but the more complex truth is that each functions a little differently. Some are like digital versions of old paper coupons, others give you rewards for the shopping you do, anyway. Regardless, it’s essential that you first know what features all of the best cash back apps must have. After all, it literally pays to find the best!
Must-Have Qualities for All the Best Cash Back Apps for Shoppers
While the exact details of how each works varies from app to app, there’s some functionality all the best cash back apps should have. Here are a few features and qualities I consider vital:
- Free to use: This is probably the simplest but most essential quality. You shouldn’t have to pay a monthly fee to use an app to get cash back. You also shouldn’t have to pay if you don’t hit a certain level, and you definitely shouldn’t have to pay just to download the app. After all, the goal here is to save you money on the shopping you do every day!
- Available for iPhones and Androids: In my personal opinion, all of the best cash back apps for shoppers work with both platforms. That’s important not only because you might switch phones someday and you want to take all your rewards with you, but also because usually the more people using the app, the greater the savings.
- Saves you money both online and off: Let’s face it, we’re doing as much shopping these days on our phones and computers as at brick-and-mortar stores. No matter which one you choose, your shopping app should score you points wherever you shop.
- Fun to use: In order to maximize your savings, you have to use a cash back app every time you step into the store. In order to make sure you’re doing that, using that app has to be fun.
The All-Time Best Cash Back App for Shoppers
My personal all-time favorite cash back app for shopping hits all these marks and is ridiculously fun to use. It’s called Shopkick, and how it works is that it turns your shopping trips into a fun scavenger hunt for points. Shopkick gives you points for all the things you do anyway while shopping, like scanning products for more information, scanning your receipt, and even just for walking into certain stores. The best part is, once you’ve earned those points you can trade them in for gift cards to your favorite stores, which can seriously boost your budget!
Take it from me: Shopkick really is as good as it gets.
So, while learning curves may be part of life, the road to finding the best cash back apps for shoppers should have very few twists and turns. Take it from me: Shopkick really is as good as it gets. It’s a ton of fun and has made my trips down the aisles way more engaging. With Shopkick, every last trip to the store is less like a chore. You’ll be having so much fun you won’t even be thinking about all the money you’re saving. Won’t that add up to a happy surprise?
Conquer the learning curve and see for yourself why Shopkick is the best cash back app for shoppers. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun, Shopkicker!
If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping fun.
Image courtesy cookiestudio
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A third-party app is more than just a marketing medium: It can be an invaluable part of a product launch plan. Continue reading “Why your CPG product launch plan should include a third-party app”
It’s time for a kick-me-up!
Calling all Shopkickers! Case of the Mondays following you through the week? In a bit of a mid-week slump? Perk up and get ready for your weekly KICK-me-up! Let us bring you a little moment of joy with some extra kicks. You deserve it!
Big kicks + chance to win even more kicks = 
Get a boost with BIG kicks from a surprise online retailer each week in the Shopkick app. Follow us on Facebook for weekly clues on the identity of the retailer. Plus, tell us your guess and get the chance to win 100 kicks! Then, come back to Shopkick the next day and shop for the mystery retailer you guessed.
Happy shopkicking!
Don’t have the app yet? Download it now to start earning kicks and join the fun!
The best grocery apps to earn rewards for shopping
Just like some big city grocery store, the app marketplace is really crowded these days—so crowded that it can sometimes be hard to pick which app is best for a specific task. I swear I spent a year searching for the best grocery app to earn rewards for shopping. Why the dedication? Because I shop a ton—I have three hungry boys at home after all—and quite frankly I like saving money. A lot.
I’ve given many of the contenders for best grocery app a whirl over the past year or two and now, to save you some time and effort, I’d like to share my favorites. These are all apps that let you earn rewards for the shopping you do anyway. They’re all sure to help you save some serious cash, too!
My First Grocery App: Ebates
Ebates was the very first grocery app I tried when my boys were young, and it was another mom who tipped me off to the idea of shopping apps. Ebates is a centralized platform where shoppers can search for deals and coupons from more than 1,800 retailers, saving you money when you shop online. I used Ebates for a few months, and it really did help me start to stretch my budget.
Eventually, though, I started to wish there were cash back apps like Ebates that could do a bit more to bolster my budget. So, I ended up seeking out newer apps, many of which are way more fun to use! Finding a grocery app to earn rewards for shopping that is also fun to use is key because then it’s much easier to remember to use it. At least for me anyway!
Best Grocery App for Couponing: SavingStar
What I liked when I started using SavingStar was how it reminded me of the days when I used to clip coupons. While that’s fun and nostalgic, it’s nice not to be bothered with all that paper anymore! Which is where SavingStar comes in. SavingStar is a digital coupon app that pays users to shop at grocery and drugstores.
More than 60,000 stores are part of SavingStar. For a long time, it was my companion app to another shopping rewards app, Ebates, since I’d use Ebates online and SavingStar in the real store. Some words of warning, though: SavingStar is generally free to use, but 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. Rewards add up until they can eventually be cashed out through PayPal, Upromise, or in the form of Starbucks, iTunes, or AMC Theater gift codes.
Best Grocery App to Earn Rewards for Shopping: Shopkick
In the end, I discovered the best grocery app to earn rewards for shopping, one that is also a ton of fun to use—Shopkick. What Shopkick does is give you points—called kicks—for things you’re already doing when you shop, like buying products, scanning the barcodes on featured items for more info, and even just walking into some stores. Then, you can turn those points into gift cards to your favorite stores.
Shopkick essentially turns all of your trips out to the store into a scavenger hunt for points.
Shopkick essentially turns all of your trips out to the store into a scavenger hunt for points. I’ve had a blast challenging myself to maximize points, which has added up to huge savings. I’ve also started to use Shopkick’s social media channels, which is a fun way to meet other Shopkickers. I’ve spent hours upon hours on Shopkick’s Facebook page sharing shopping tips with other moms and funny memes, and just talking about life in general.
Feel free to try out some of the other shopping apps out there, but if you want to avoid endlessly searching the crowded app marketplace, take my word for it and download Shopkick, ASAP. It’s the only shopping rewards app I actually look forward to using when I head to the store!
Get to know one of the best grocery apps to earn rewards for shopping. Download Shopkick 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 Wavebreak Media Ltd
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We live in an exciting time for mobile technology. Not only are consumers able to access the Internet from their phones, they can also connect via newer connected devices, such as wearables and smart speakers. Continue reading “Mobile commerce trends in 2018: Is your brand ready?”
Fun apps where you can make money for shopping
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
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.
These 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
Refresh your home for Spring with big kicks from Kohls.com
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!
Don’t have Shopkick yet? Download it now to join start earning rewards!
Happy shopkicking!
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