Shopkick: a précis
What is it?
Shopkick is a cashback app which allows you to earn gift cards--
Disney gift cards included-- without the need of making a purchase.
How does it work?
You earn 'kicks' (points, by another name) which add up, and are redeemable for GCs. Kicks can be earned by
scanning items in-store, simply
walking into a store, or
making a purchase. As you may imagine, you'll earn the most kicks for purchases.
You can also earn kicks by making in-store purchases by linking your credit card to Shopkick. I've found this is possible only at TJMaxx and Marshall's, but that may change based on your geographical location.
Scanning items?
I know it sounds weird, and if you're like me, you may feel guilty the first few times you try it. But I promise no one cares! And plenty of people walk around stores holding their phones these days.
After selecting your store, you'll see the offers available. Generally you'll be given the option to scan or to purchase.
The value in blue on the left is what you'll earn for scanning; on the right, in green is what you'll earn for purchasing. You'll see the kicks instantly added to your total after scanning the bar code.
The kicks per scan vary quite a bit-- anywhere from 10 kicks to 100 kicks. But i'd say on average on they are in the 20-30 range per item.
The items you scan are
very specific-- sometimes even down to size of the bottle or twin pack vs single. In order to earn kicks, you have to scan exactly what it states.
In this screenshot above, then, you could only scan (or purchase) Dove Body Love Lotion. No other type of Dove Body Lotion would work.
Walk-ins?
In my area, Walmart, Target, and CVS always give 10 kicks per walk-in. Depending on signal strength, you may not even need to walk into the store, just standing outside will give you the kicks. This is useful if you walk for part of a commute.
TJMaxx and Marshall's usually give 75 kicks per walk-in, but there are often bonus kicks. Currently, they're 125 kicks each, and on some holiday weekends, I've seen them go as high as 250.
Your ability to earn from walk-ins is limited. This is an area where they are a little vague about how this earning ability is calculated.
Are there other ways to earn kicks?
You can watch adverts in the app. It's usually 1-3 kicks per ad, but some have earned me 5 or 10.
There is also an online shopping portal. Click through from the offers the same way you would do with Rakuten or Ibotta, and you'll earn kicks.
As with most of these sort of apps, you're given a referral code, and you can earn bonuses by referring friends/family to the app. If your person earns 10 kicks in the first 7 days, you'll each gain 250 kicks.
Sometimes there are also opportunities for kicks at cinema concessions (I go to the movies twice a month or more, so this is particularly helpful for me) and restaurants.
Why should I use Shopkick?
You can earn a DGC without having to make any purchases! It is a quicker process if you do make purchases, but it's possible to earn without, just through scans, walk-ins, and watching adverts. And I really appreciate that I can earn a DGC directly. I also use Fetch for earning GCs-- I earn a Visa, and then go to get a DGC. With Shopkick, it's a little more streamlined. (There are many other brands offered, if you don't want DGC!)
I also like the ease of just scanning as I walk around doing my grocery shop, or just having a Saturday afternoon mooch through Walmart or Target.