Shopkick app has been around for quite a while, and it’s available for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. It’s free of charge, and with Easter discounts coming, you might want to check it out. Shoppers and shopaholics will find it helpful when navigating sales, deals and discounts. Shopkick helps consumers find the best deals on products in a large variety of retailers – Best Buy, Macy’s, Crate and Barrel or Toys Are Us. Besides finding good deals for you, it will reward you when you enter a specific retail store or scan items and buy things.
In addition, last winter, the company behind Shopkick launched shopBeacon, a small scanning gadget in a variety of retail stores, which uses Apple’s iBeacon technology to send shoppers notifications to launch the app when they walk into a particular affiliate store.
To use the app, you will need to sign in via Facebook and browse the items on sale in affiliated stores, for example, Sephora or Old Navy. You have the option to choose the area of your preference and locate nearby affiliated shops, or choose to see a feed of discounted items.
You can create a book of items of interest, or a wish list, by tapping a heart icon next to the products you’re interested in. Once you get enough kicks, you can redeem gift cards.
The app is lightweight and easy to navigate. When you install it, you have to grant it access to your microphone and location services.
It is quite a sophisticated piece of software because it knows automatically when you enter one of its affiliated stores, rewarding you for just visiting the store, so you can basically accumulate gift cards by simply wandering around affiliated shops. Here are some simple strategies to get the most out of this app.
1. When you go shopping or simply wandering around shopping malls, always remember to open the app. This will help you earn more kicks that eventually translate into rewards and gift cards. If you don’t know which shops offer walk in rewards, launch the app and choose “find kicks waiting nearby.” The Shopkick displays a number of stores and shopping centers in your area that offer rewards to customers who simply walk in. The best part is you don’t need to buy anything as you collect rewards and you basically can walk in, get the kicks collected and leave.
2. Another helpful tip is to check the app on a regular basis. While this is a general practice for shopaholics, if you really want to save on discounts and gift cards for something specific, you may want to check the app daily. Sometimes you may remember to launch the app the moment you walk by a partner shop, but if you want to get the most of the rewards, launch it daily to check whether there are any great offers along your route. Sometimes there are deals that last only one day, but offer around 200 points for just walking in a specific shop.
3. Another nifty feature of this application is you can collect more reward points if you scan items in the affiliated stores. Sometimes stores display a list of items you can scan to get more kicks. This is particularly convenient if you are already inside the shop and it will take you only a couple of minutes to scan a couple of barcodes as you pass by the aisles. As a result, you can collect a pretty hefty load of kicks. However, keep in mind that different shops can offer rewards for scanning the same items, and if you scanned chewing gum at Walmart, you cannot get a reward for scanning the same chewing gum at Sephora.
4. Shopkick offers extra rewards to those consumers who link their credit cards to their Shopkick accounts. Additionally, you can get more rewards by inviting friends to join the application and become an affiliate to Shopkick, too. You will have your portion of your friends’ kicks during the first 2 weeks after your friends start using the app.
It is very important to check the application frequently because sometimes there are offers that are valid during a limited time, and it goes without saying that seasonal discounts can get you some really great deals.
As a result, if you’re planning a specific purchase in one of the partner stores, you can save yourself a lot of money if you simply keep an eye on the Shopkick app, encourage your friends to sign up, visit the affiliated shops that offer rewards for simply walking in and scanning products that gain you kick points. Eventually, you might end up with a hefty load of bonus points you can redeem when you finally buy that XBox One in Best Buy.
