I’ve been using a new iPhone app lately. The name of it is ShopKick. It bills itself as a rewards program for just walking into stores. You have the app open and walk into a store and presto, you get “Kickbucks” which you can exchange for prizes. You can also in select shops scan products and get extra kickbucks. It also occasionally has coupons and discounts within the app. You also level up to unlock better rewards and more bonuses.
The Pros
- They have some big name retailers backing this project. Best Buy, American Eagle Outfitters, Macy’s, Sports Authority and Simon Malls.
- There are bonus sets to collect and a few of the sets are donations that Citi will make a donation to Feed America or the ASPCA.
- You can redeem your kickbucks for charity donations; Facebook credits; Gift Certificates to Restraurant.com, Best Buy, American Eagle, Sports Authority; or DVDs.
The Cons
- I am using it in Arlington, VA, but have yet to find a store where I get credit for walking in automatically. I have been in Best Buy once, two different May’s stores and an American Eagle. No luck with the automatic check-in.
- For the badges you earn there is no progress bar or anything else that will let you check how close you are to earning your next achievement badge.
- Winning a free song means you have to use Napster to redeem it.