Shopkick: Can You Really Make Money?

Shopkick is one of the few apps where you can earn points towards gift cards without having to make any purchases. Shopkick is a super easy to use app that has a great 4.7 Star rating in the App Store with over 40,000 reviews!

How can you earn points with Shopkick?

The great thing about Shopkicks is that they offer several ways to earn points that you can turn into gift cards. All the methods are very straight forward and easy! The first way to earn Kicks is simply by walking into the store. 

1. Some stores in the Shopkick app will offer you a point incentive just to walk inside! It's very easy: Just make sure your Bluetooth is on and that the location services are turned on for the app. Open the app when you're near or in the store and once you're close enough, the Kicks will appear in your account! It really doesn't get any easier than this! Plus some outlet malls don't even require you to physically be in the store for the kicks to activate, so you can earn extra points just by driving around your local mall.

2. The second method to earning kicks is by scanning products in the store. This is another no purchase necessary way of earning points and they add up quicker than you expect. The screenshots above show a variety of products that are available now that you can earn kicks on. Underneath the picture there is a small image of a barcode with a number beside it, that means you can earn points by scanning the barcode on these specific products. 

This is definitely one of the fastest ways to accumulate kicks. The only real problem I've run into is that it can be pretty draining on your phone’s battery, especially in the big box stores where service is spotty. When it comes to scanning products the app, can get pretty picky as well so making sure you're reading the product descriptions and scanning the right products will help save you time in the long run. For example, magazines usually want the same cover they have pictured so depending on the time of the month you may be too late or too early for the issue listed.

3.  Method number three for earning Kicks is probably exactly what you expect: buying the products. If the products in the app line up with your shopping list you can be set to earn a lot quicker but I don't advise going out of your way to buy products just for the points. 

I've done some very basic math and found that it takes 250 kicks to equal $1. Just comparing that to the example of what you can earn for buying products you can see that the points on this app can accumulate quickley, and in the future I'll go over how stacking different apps and coupons can get you products at steep discounts or even free! Just remember that number 250 points = $1 always know your value. 

How do you earn with these purchases though? It's very easy! Make sure you are getting the right product and simply purchase it. Then all you have to do it click the receipt button, then select the products on the receipt that qualify for the Kicks, then take a picture of the receipt. 

In some cases your kicks may load immediately but I've also had to wait up to 48 hours before. I don't recommend throwing your receipts out until you have the kick balance on your account, I've never run into any issues but I also live by the saying it's better to be safe than sorry.

4. The fourth method for earning Kicks is shopping online through the app or making other out of app purchases. This is a service I don't use very often, there are often better places to get more cashback but you can find the occasional bonus. 

    Right now you can earn 450 Kicks for using the Shopkick app to buy through the Walmart Grocery app. That is a good deal considering your Walmart purchase may not include any kicks at all. They also have other services available through this feature as well including Postmates, SeatGeek and Amazon Prime just to name a few. The terms and conditions of all shops vary so make sure you're skimming over the details so you can maximize your points the most.

5. The fifth method of earning Kicks is the easiest most hassle-free of them all, but you'll only earn a few Kicks a day this day. Inside the app at the bottom of the screen you'll see a small tab labeled Discover. In this tab you'll find any bonus Kicks that are being offered at the moment. At the top of the screen you can see where it has a list of "Quick Kicks" today I was offered three bonus points for watching three very short advertisements of products listed elsewhere throughout the app. I try to scroll through this tab daily just to make sure I get all those extra Kicks and that i'm not missing out on something new that may have appeared in the app that I already plan on buying. Sometimes you can even earn Kicks just for scrolling through some of the advertizing pages. 

Is it really worth the time and effort?

When it comes to using Shopkick it can be an app that takes up a bit of your time, especially if you wander through the store and scan all those extra products you may not even be buying. The screen shot above is from my own account, right now i'm lingering between $25 and $50. I'll be honest the balance i have is over a year old, that being said in the past I have used the app at a bare minimum. It's just something that slips my mind when I'm in the store. I have been working on using the app more effectively in the past two weeks and I can already see a huge boost in my kicks (2,000+). All in all since the Kicks don't expire you can accumulate these, forget them, add more and keep the cycle going until you have enough to redeem for what you want. This app 100% is worth the effort and battery killing, this one is just too easy to pass up!

What can I redeem my Kicks for?

 Shopkick has a really great variety of giftcards that you can turn in your Kicks to receive. The options below are less than half of everything that is available. They even have some more outlandish items like a Vespa Scooter and a $300 gift card to Tiffany & Co. 

Their reward shop definitely has something for everyone and there is a Paypal option as well though it is listed at a higher amount of points per dollar and you can definitely get a better deal on other items.

Is there a referral program?

Yes! Shopkick offers a referral program so you can receive a bonus for getting your friends to sign up. As long as your friends register and earn Kicks in their first 7 days of signing up you both receive 250 Kicks. If you might be interested in signing up for this app, feel free to use my sign on code to get that bonus, you can also use any of the links provided within this blog.


How does it rate overall?
I give Shopkick 4/5 stars. I'm not a fan of how it kills my battery but the fact that these Kicks don't expire lets me forgive it. Aside from spending the time in store, this app is about as close to that free money as you can get.