Why Shopkick Might Be The Easiest Way To Earn Big Rewards

I've been using reward apps to save money and earn cash back for years. And out of all the apps I've tested, Shopkick is by far one of the most versatile ones.

It's also helped users earn over $85 million in free gift cards just by shopping in-store and using the app to save money online. And it's a legit app that's both fun and easy to use.

This Shopkick review is covering its pros and cons and everything you need to know to decide if this app is right for you.

Quick Summary

• Shopkick is a free U.S. rewards app for Android and iOS
• Use my code TOW for a $5 sign up bonus
• It lets you earn gift cards and cash for completing short tasks
• A mix of a rewards app and mystery shopping app
• Low cash out minimum and excellent reward variety

Is Shopkick Legit?

Shopkick is legit and lets you earn rewards for shopping and completing a variety of tasks. It has a 3.8 star rating and 4.6 star rating on the Google and Apple app stores, as well as hundreds of thousands of downloads:

In my experience, Shopkick also makes it easy to earn kicks since it has so many offers and earning options. It's one of the highest-paying app in this genre, especially if you focus on shopping offers. Overall, if you want a versatile way to earn rewards while you shop and walk around your city, it's worth using.

What Is Shopkick?

Shopkick is a free rewards app for Android and iOS that lets you earn rewards by scanning items, walking into stores, making in-store purchases, shopping at online partners, and more!

The app pays you with kicks, the in-app points system, for completing these short tasks. You can then cash out with a wide variety of free gift cards and PayPal cash.

The app is completely free to download and is available in the United States. And if you're familiar with apps like Fetch and Ibotta, it should feel pretty familiar.

Shopkick has also accumulated over 7.5 million members since launching in 2009, making it one of the largest shopping rewards apps around. In short, if you want to get paid to shop and explore different stores in your city, this money-making app is worth trying.

Pro Tip: Sign up for Shopkick and use the code TOW to get a $5 bonus when you earn your first in-store kicks!

How Does Shopkick Work?

Shopkick works in 7 easy steps:

1. Walk into stores
2. Scan barcodes
3. Complete in-store purchases
4. Scan receipts
5. Make in-app purchases
6. Watch videos

1. Walk Into Stores

The easiest way to earn kicks with Shopkick is just by entering specific stores.

That’s right, you don’t actually have to buy anything to start saving with this app. Shopkick actually partners with more than 250,000 stores, so you're bound to find some opportunities to earn here.

Here’s how Shopkick stores pay you for walking inside:

1. Open the Shopkick app
2. Make sure bluetooth, microphone, and WiFi is enabled
3. Walk into a participating store (you can find local offers within the app's interface)
4. Your phone will automatically recognize you're completing a walk-in offer
5. Kicks will be awarded to your account

It’s that simple! Once you have everything enabled, all you’re really doing is opening the app and walking inside nearby stores to earn points.

Walk-in offers don't pay that much, but if you're the primary shopper for your household, you might as well earn free money for visiting stores you shop at anyway.

2. Scan Barcodes

When you’re in a Shopkick partner store, you can also scan specific barcodes for various products to earn even more kicks.

Note that you don't have to make a purchase here to qualify. Shopkick just wants you to visit specific stores and to interact with products from its partners.

Here’s how to scan barcodes with Shopkick:

1. Go to the “Earn” tab within the app
2. Select “Kicks Nearby”
3. Select the store address you're currently in
4. Tap the scan icon
5. Scan the barcode and get paid

Again, like walk-in offers, this generally pays under $1 for your efforts. However, if you're already in a Shopkick store, you can easily complete these tasks while you shop.

Extra Reading – 10+ Best Apps Like Fetch Rewards.

3. Purchase With Linked Card

If you've ever used the Drop app or another cashback rewards app, you'll know exactly how this process works.

Shopkick rewards users for shopping in-store at their partners. However, to track your purchases and reward you with kicks, you need to link a Visa or MasterCard to the Shopkick app.

Once you link your card and wait around 24 hours for verification, you're good to go. Anytime you shop at a qualifying store, you automatically earn kicks for your purchase.

This is definitely one of the best ways to earn kicks and your rewards are much higher than simply walking into stores or scanning barcodes.

Just note that your purchase only qualifies if it's a credit transaction, not a debit transaction. Shopkick doesn't store any credit card information in their personal data base. It works with Visa and MasterCard to manage your linked credit card, so it's 100% safe to link your card.

4. Purchase & Upload Receipts

On top of using a credit card to earn kicks, you can also scan receipts from eligible stores to earn kicks. Again, if you've ever tried out apps like Fetch Rewards or the CoinOut app, the process is fairly similar.

Here’s how to scan receipts with Shopkick to earn:

1. Go to the “Earn” tab
2. Select “Kicks Nearby”
3. Choose your store
4. Select the “receipts” icon
5. Browse the list of receipt-eligible products that are available
6. Buy an eligible product and upload the receipt for proof of purchase

I wouldn't suggest dramatically altering your shopping routine to earn kicks this way since receipts might only pay a few dozen kicks. However, it's worth checking for opportunities to earn before shopping to ensure you don't miss out.

Extra Reading – The Best $25 Sign Up Bonuses.

5. Make In-App Purchases

Shopping online is another way to earn kicks, provided you shop directly through the Shopkick app.

Once you're ready to shop, here’s what you do:

1. Go to the “Earn” tab
2. Select “Kicks Online”
3. Make an online purchase from one of Shopkick's sponsored partners
4. Earn kicks after roughly 72 hours

You can earn points whether you’re in-store, online, or just by scanning products as you browse through a store. Plus, most of these options don't require you to actually spend money.

6. Watch Videos

Another way to make money with Shopkick is to watch ads and videos for money.

Although these videos are easy to watch, the amount of kicks you earn from them won’t make you rich. In fact, this is probably the lowest-paying Shopkick gig out of all your options.

Videos are useful to add a few more points to your account if you're close to cashing out, but other than that, they don't pay too well.

Shopkick Rewards & Cashing Out

One Shopkick kick is worth $0.004, meaning every 250 kicks is worth $1 in gift cards. Many Shopkick rewards require $2 to $3 to redeem, so you can cash out fairly quickly.

There are a lot of gift card options to choose from, and you can also choose to redeem PayPal cash. Some popular gift card rewards include:

• Amazon
• Target
• Walmart
• Starbucks
• AMC
• Best Buy
• Sephora
• Ebay
• Uber Eats
• Nike

Keep in mind, the minimum amount to redeem a gift card on Shopkick is $2. However, different merchants have different redemption offers. For example, Walmart and Target have $2 and $5 gift card rewards, but Amazon starts at $5.

How Much Does Shopkick Pay?

How much Shopkick pays depends on how much you shop and how much effort you put into completing offers. In my experience, making $5 to $10 a month with Shopkick is pretty realistic, assuming you do most of the shopping for your household.

But let's do an example to show you how much you can earn. Let's assume you went into a popular grocery store and did a quick shop:

• Walking Into The Store: 25 kicks.
• Scan 3 Items: 90 kicks.
• Buy 1 Eligible Item: 200 kicks.
• Watch A Video: 10 kicks.

Total Kicks: 325 (Worth $1.30)

I still think it's unlikely to earn a free gift card on a single or even second or third shopping trip because you need at least $2 in kicks to redeem a prize.

But, if you're consistent with this app and shop for your household, you can realistically earn some free gift cards every month or two.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Shopkick is free and easy to use
• Get a $5 bonus if you use the code TOW
• Available on Android and iOS
• You don’t always have to spend to earn
• Lets you make money doing something you were already doing
• Notification settings alert you for chances to earn extra kicks
• Huge variety of rewards and ways to earn making this one of the most versatile rewards app

Cons:

• 1 kick is only worth $0.004
• Low earning potential
• Not all stores are eligible
• Location matters
• Shopkick is only available in the United States

Other Shopkick Reviews

After testing out Shopkick briefly to write this review, I think it's a legitimate app that's useful if you shop every week. It's also quite lucrative if you live in a major city near lots of major retailers.

But one of the best ways to tell if a side hustle idea is worth it or not is to read testimonials from other users. In general, other Shopkick reviews seem to be fairly positive but honest: you can use this app to save money, but it won't change your life.

As you can see from this Reddit thread, you can save some money, but you need to have realistic expectations. Here's what some other Shopkick reviews are saying:

• Tzipity says: “It's really not that bad for earning money. Other than redeeming one cashback type deal on a product I was going to buy anyhow, and not even pulling out the app half the time I’m in stores, I made $10 in PayPal money (love that that’s an option) within a couple of months.”
• acp1284 says: “I do Shopkick when I exercise. I live near a bunch of the stores and bike or walk between them. I don’t do receipts. Just walk-ins and scans. I average $35 a month.”

I like the idea of using Shopkick as an app that pays you for exercising, and if you do most of the shopping for your household, I think this app is worth testing.

Of course, you won't make $5k a month with this app or anything crazy. But it's an effective way to make some quick money while you shop and walk around.

The Best Apps Like Shopkick

If you like the sound of walking into stores to earn or scanning receipts for cash, some Shopkick alternatives you can try include:

• Upside (my favorite app for gas rewards)
• Pogo
• Field Agent
• Ibotta
• Checkout 51
• Receipt Hog
• ReceiptPal
• Mobee
• Dosh
• Amazon Shopper Panel

A lot of these apps focus on receipt scanning or mystery shopping tasks, not both. However, hopefully this list of apps like Shopkick help you boost your earnings while you're on the go!

Extra Reading – How To Get Money In One Hour.

Tips For Making More Money With Shopkick

Keep the following Shopkick cheats in mind if you want to earn extra kicks the next time you head out to the store:

1. Turn on notifications and bluetooth so you never miss ways to earn kicks
2. Use the code TOW for an easy sign up bonus
3. Look for hidden kicks the app sometimes promotes
4. Earn 250 kick referral bonuses by inviting your friends to join the app
5. Link your cards to the app to maximize shopping offers
6. Always keep store receipts so you can upload them to the app

Is Shopkick A Scam?

No, Shopkick isn't a scam, and the app pays real money if you complete enough tasks and can cash out. It also has dozens of gift card options you can redeem as well as free PayPal cash, and the app pays on time.

Which Stores Work With Shopkick?

There are plenty of popular Shopkick stores and brands where you can earn rewards for shopping, including:

• Target
• CVS
• Marshalls
• Best Buy
• TJ Maxx
• Whole Foods
• Shein
• Walmart
• Sephora

As long as you live in a relatively populous city you should have some opportunity to earn, but you'll never know until you start trying!

Extra Reading – The Best Ways To Make Money Online For Beginners.

Is There Customer Support?

You can reach customer support by using Shopkick's support page and submitting a question. You can also browse its FAQ section to find useful answers to common questions people have.

Final Thoughts

Can you quit your full time job by downloading this app? Absolutely not. But, can you save some money on your weekly grocery trip or Target run? Definitely.

Ultimately, the amount you earn with Shopkick really depends on the effort you’re willing to put into it.

If you have the app open when you enter a store, scan a few items, and scan your receipt, you can definitely gain points. These points rack up long term and can eventually save you a decent chunk of change.

Remember, the app is free and you don’t have to go out of your way to earn kicks. You’re already going to be shopping, and who doesn’t want to earn a gift card in the meantime?

Plus, you can always stack Shopkick with other passive income apps to earn even more!

Want even more ways to make money? Checkout:

• The Top Secret Websites To Make Money.
• Kudos Browser Extension – Always Shop With The Right Credit Card.