Shopkick Review 2024: Is Shopkick Legit or a Scam?

If you often use reward apps to save money on everyday purchases, you’ve probably heard of or come across Shopkick. But before signing up, you want to know if the cashback app is legit and worth your time.

Shopkick claims to reward you with gift cards when you shop with their partners. But is the pay substantial, or is the app just a waste of time? 

In this Shopkick review, I’ll cover how the app works and its pros and cons to help you determine if it’s worth your time. I’ll also share Shopkick cheats to earn more kicks and the best Shopkick alternatives you can try. 

Looking for more ways to save money? Try out:

• Upside – My favorite reward app to save money on gas!
• Drop – Earn money back for your daily purchases

What Is Shopkick?

Shopkick, owned by Trax company, is a leading rewards app that allows you to earn gift cards for making everyday purchases at their partner stores and online shopping websites.

They partner with several major brands and retailers, including:

• Sephora
• Target 
• Best Buy
• Amazon
• Walmart
• Starbucks
• Nike
• Gamestop  

Shopkick is available for both Android and iOS devices. If you’d like to try this reward app, download it for free from Google Play or the App Store.

This is how the platform works: Sign up on Shopkick, visit your favorite store, and purchase items. 

Shopping earns you reward points called kicks, which you can exchange for gift cards once you accumulate the cashout threshold.

Payment isn’t limited to in-store purchases. You can also earn money by shopping at over 80 online stores from the comfort of your home. 

Besides shopping, Shopkick lets you make money by watching videos and browsing the app to learn about new products.

The advantage of Shopkick over similar apps like Fetch and Ibotta is that it lets you earn by walking into select stores.

Is Shopkick Legit?

Yes, Shopkick is a legit reward app that lets you earn gift cards for shopping at their partner stores. The app ranks 168 in the shopping category on the App Store and boasts an impressive 4.6 average rating with over 79,000 reviews.

According to my experience and other users’ reports, Shopkick is an excellent app if you want to get paid to shop since it makes it easy to earn points. 

It also has responsive customer service. They replied to most reviews on Google Play and the App Store. 

Most users who had issues with the app reported that they were fixed. It’s nice to know that Shopkick cares about its users and is willing to solve problems as soon as they arise.

I went through some Shopkick reviews on Reddit, and here’s what users have to say about the app:

• Roads30 says: “not sure why on the permissions thing. But as a general use for getting money back out of “kicks” not really. Only because it takes forvever. And it seems over the last year, kicks vs. time spent in a store just seemed pointless.”
• GenZ23 says: “Just started using Shopkick it’s easy…On its own it’s not worth it, but stacked yes.”
• Supermariobras says: “I’ve used Shopkick on and off for a  few years and id say it’s worth it if you leave the house often or have a lot of free time.”

While Shopkick may be an excellent way to snag gift cards, it’s only practical if you live in a large city close to the retail partners and have a lot of free time. 

Shopping online is an option if you reside far from the stores. However, depending on the store’s policy, you may have to cater for shipping fees.

Another concern most users have is that some product offers are limited to specific stores. You may only benefit from such offers if you live close to the particular store. 

Also, several users complain that Shopkick requesting certain unnecessary permissions is a red flag. For instance, Shopkick asking for access to your microphone may be weird.

Another downside of the platform is the frequent bugs. Most people encounter difficulties when cashing out.  

Generally, Shopkick offers a great opportunity to make extra money for everyday purchases. It’s, however, not a great side hustle idea if you’re looking to earn a substantial income.

How Does Shopkick Work?

Shopkick works like most reward apps. Even if you’re using a shopping rewards app for the first time, Shopkick is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Here are the steps to follow to start earning on the platform:

1. Download the App

The first step to earning kicks is downloading the app. The Shopkick app is free to download on Google Play and the App Store. 

This is a massive advantage since only a few reward apps are available for Android and iOS devices.

2. Choose a Gift Card and Sign Up 

Downloading the app lets you pick a gift card as a goal to work toward. You can always choose a different gift card at any time.

Once you set your goal, create an account using your email address or Google account. After you successfully set up your account, it’s time to start earning kicks. 

Turning on Shopkick notifications helps you get up to date when earning opportunities are available.

3. Earn Rewards

Shopkick provides numerous ways to make money, which I’ll discuss in detail in the next section. 

If you’re familiar with cashback apps like Rakuten, you probably know how getting rewards for making purchases works. 

With Shopkick, you earn kicks by watching videos, linking your credit card, and shopping online. 

If you’re looking for an app that pays to walk, Shopkick is for you. You can earn free kicks by simply walking into their partnering stores. The walk-in offer is excellent since you don’t need to make a purchase; simply walking into the store will suffice. 

Plus, they pay you to scan items without purchasing them. Yes, you hear that right. Generally, Shopkick is a great option if you’re looking for ways to earn free money.

Completing offers earns you points, redeemable for gift cards for popular stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy.

4. Cash Out

Once you’ve accumulated enough kicks, you can redeem the points for gift cards of your choice. The withdrawal minimum varies based on the gift card you choose. 

The cheapest gift cards to Sierra, HomeGoods, and Target at the time of writing go for $2, equivalent to about 500 kicks. That said, one kick equals about $0.004. 

Some gift cards are worth as much as $50. Therefore, you must complete as many offers as possible to earn a substantial reward.

Apart from gift cards to major stores, you can redeem your kicks for PayPal money. It’s worth noting that you must pay a 50-kick transaction fee when you cash out via PayPal.

Sometimes, Shopkick allows you to purchase products using your earned kicks. For instance, you could land a Nintendo Switch worth 75,000 points. 

However, these offers aren’t available at this time. Keep checking in case Shopkick goes back to offering such products. 

Different Ways To Earn Shopkick Points

A significant advantage of Shopkick is that, unlike other rebate apps like Fetch Rewards, it offers several ways to snag extra cash apart from merely shopping. 

Some of the earning options on Shopkick include:

• Walking into certain stores
• Scanning receipts
• Watching videos
• Shopping online
• Linking your cards
• Referring friends

Let’s dive into these options to help you determine if Shopkick is the right passive income app for you.

1. Walk Into Participating Stores

One of the money-generating methods available on Shopkick is walking into stores. This is one of the easiest ways since you don’t need to purchase anything.

You can earn money by simply walking into your favorite stores and following these simple steps:

• Enable your device’s Bluetooth
• Connect your phone to a reliable internet
• Launch the Shopkick app
• Enable access to your microphone
• Navigate the “Nearby” tab to find participating stores
• Walk into a store

Shopkick partner stores have small boxes at the entrance that emit signals. Your phone picks up the signal at the store’s door, and your kicks are deposited into your account. Expect to earn about 10 to 200 kicks per walk-in.   

In case your kicks aren’t deposited instantly, refresh the app severally. Restarting your phone or reinstalling the app may help if the issue persists.

Note that this feature is only available at specific stores. Check if the nearby stores participate in this offer to earn free kicks.

2. Scan Barcodes

Scanning specific products in partner stores is another excellent way to earn gift cards with Shopkick. 

Here’s how to do it:

• Locate the app’s blue barcode icon
• Select the “Kicks Nearby” offer to find eligible stores
• Find qualifying items to scan
• Use your phone’s camera to scan the barcodes
• Get paid! 

Since this offer is unavailable for all products and items, it’s vital to ensure you scan the right ones to qualify for kicks. 

You can earn between 5 and 40 kicks for scanning one product. Watch for kick bonuses that allow you to make double for each item. 

While this may not make you a substantial amount of kicks to redeem, it’s an excellent way to earn gift cards to Amazon and other retailers since you don’t purchase the item.

Extra Reading: The Best Apps To Scan Barcodes for Money

3. Submit Receipts

Earn free kicks by uploading your receipts when you purchase qualifying items from eligible Shopkick partner stores. This is how most shopping rewards apps work. 

Submit your receipts by following these steps:

• Go to the Earn tab
• Tap the “Kicks Nearby’ option
• Select your store of choice
• Select “Receipts” and check the eligible products
• Purchase a qualifying product at the store
• Scan your receipt to prove the purchase

You may earn little money by purchasing a single product. You must buy several to gain a substantial sum. 

However, you shouldn’t make unnecessary purchases to earn more kicks. Instead, consider exploring different earning features to maximize your rewards.

4. Use Your Linked Credit Card

You can earn extra kicks using an eligible credit card at a Shopkick partner. All you have to do is link your credit card to your Shopkick account. Linking takes about 24 hours to complete.

Once your card is linked, visit any participating Shopkick partner and make credit card purchases to earn extra kicks. 

To find eligible offers, head to the Earn tab, then click “Kicks Nearby.” Afterward, select a store near you or the one you wish to shop from, then search for eligible cards.

Only Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards qualify for this feature. Also, you must run your qualifying transactions as a credit instead of debit to earn kicks.

If the machine asks for your PIN, you should cancel it and run the purchase as credit. This reduces the time it takes to remove your money from your account.

Shopkick has a policy that protects your card and personal details. If you’re worried about linking your card, be assured that Shopkick doesn’t steal your credit card info.

This method may earn a small amount on its own. Always consider stacking different earning opportunities.

5. Shop Online

Are you tired and just want to get items delivered to your doorstep? Worry not because Shopkick allows you to earn rewards even when you shop at the comfort of your couch.

This is how to go about it:

• Open the Shopkick app
• Head to the Earn tab
• Click “Kicks Online”
• Tap “Shop”
• Purchase a product at an eligible store
• Earn kicks

When you make an online purchase, Shopkick sends you a confirmation of kicks earned within 72 hours. They also inform you when they’ll be deposited into your account.

Offering both in-store and online shopping options makes Shopkick stand out. Most shopping reward apps provide either option. 

6. Watch Ads

If you’re still seeking more ways to earn on Shopkick, the app allows you to watch ads for money. 

While this feature is the least-paying compared to the rest, it’s still an excellent way to earn extra kicks, especially at the last minute when you’re looking to cash out. 

Head to the “Discover” tab to find eligible videos. These videos are typically ads of products and may be between 15-30 seconds long. 

Expect to earn between 1 and 5 kicks per video. You can watch as many as possible to accumulate rewards. Also, if you’re busy, you can mute the videos and let them run.

7. Invite Friends to the App

The final way to earn kicks on Shopkick is through their referral program. You earn 500 free kicks for every friend you invite. 

All you have to do is generate your unique invite link or code and send it to your friends by tapping the “Invite friends” option.

Ensure your friend uses your referral link to download and sign up on the app. If they sign up without using your link, you can still earn kicks when they enter your referral code manually.

Also, your friend must earn ten kicks within the first 14 days of signing up for you to qualify for referral kicks. Note that these kicks don’t include the videos feature.

How Much Can You Make With Shopkick?

Your earning potential on Shopkick depends on how much free time you have to complete offers such as walk-ins and making in-store purchases. 

Luckily, if you’re too busy to visit stores or reside far from them, you can shop online for rewards.

Making purchases and uploading receipts pays the most compared to other earning opportunities on Shopkick, while watching videos pays the least. 

However, Shopkick isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme since earning a significant income on this app is almost impossible.

Here are the earning opportunities Shopkick offers and how much you can expect to earn from each of them:

• Watching videos: 1-5 kicks per video 
• Uploading receipts: 100-2000 kicks 
• Walk-ins: 10-200 kicks per store 
• Scanning barcodes: 5-40 kicks per item
• Linking your card: 1-3 kicks per item
• Referring friends: 500 kicks per invite

Using Shopkick may earn you about $5 to $10 monthly. You can maximize your earnings on the app by completing several offers simultaneously. 

For instance, you can scan barcodes for products you don’t wish to purchase while doing your regular shopping. 

Tips for Making More Kicks with Shopkick

Here are some Shopkick cheats to help you maximize your earnings on the app.

• Watch for hidden surprises: Increase your Shopkick rewards by looking for additional money-making offers. You can find them in the Discover tab.
• Refer friends to the app: Inviting a friend earns you extra kicks if they earn 10 kicks within the first two weeks.
• Turn on notifications and Bluetooth: Turning on Shopkick notifications enables you to stay up to date when new offers arrive. Bluetooth alerts you when you walk past a store with lucrative offers.
• Update the app regularly: This allows you to enjoy the latest features and ensures smooth running. 
• Use Shopkick alongside similar apps: This is an excellent way to maximize your income. Consider stacking Shopkick with reward apps like Rakuten and Ibotta.
• Participate in giveaways and contests: Shopkick usually hosts giveaways and contests where users can earn as much as 100,000 kicks. Participate in these events to increase your rewards.

Pros and Cons of Shopkick

If you’re still wondering whether Shopkick is worth it, here are some upside and downsides of the app to help you decide.

Pros:

• The app is user-friendly 
• It offers numerous ways to make money
• It’s free to download
• Shopkick is available for both Android and iOS
• You can earn through in-store or online shopping
• Some offers allow you to earn without spending

Cons: 

• You must invest a lot of time to earn substantial kicks
• Earning opportunities may be limited by location
• They don’t offer a signup bonus like similar apps do
• You must shop on the mobile app

The Best Apps Like Shopkick

Shopkick has plenty of limitations, the major being its low earning potential. If you feel Shopkick isn’t the right app, several other options are worth considering. 

Also, if you’d like to make money on Shopkick, why limit yourself to one app when you can use several? Consider stacking Shopkick with similar apps.

Here are some of the best apps like Shopkick:

• Upside: This is my favorite cashback app to save money on gas and other everyday purchases.
• Drop: Like Shopkick, Drop lets you earn rewards for shopping.
• Pogo: This mobile app pays you for shopping and sharing your data. You can read my Pogo App review.
• Fetch Rewards: One of the most popular reward apps that pays you for uploading receipts.
• Ibotta: Looking for an app like Shopkick? Ibota is an excellent option.
• Rakuten: Earn cashback at over 3,500 stores when you sign up with Rakuten.
• Receipt Hog: This mobile app lets you earn cashback for scanning receipts. You can also fill out surveys on the app to earn more.
• ReceiptPal: Scan your receipts with this app to earn rewards.
• Checkout 51: This app pays you to shop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopkick a Scam?

No, Shopkick isn’t a scam. It’s a legit platform that lets you earn gift cards for completing simple tasks such as walking into participating stores, scanning barcodes, uploading receipts, and watching videos.

The app’s average rating of 4.6 stars on the App Store proves that it’s legit, and users earn through it.

Can You Make Money With Shopkick?

Yes, making money with Shopkick is possible since it’s a rewards app. Here are some activities you can undertake to make money on the app:

• Walk into Shopkick’s partner stores
• Watch ads for money
• Scan barcodes at participating stores
• Make a qualifying purchase using a linked credit card
• Refer friends to Shopkick

Is Shopkick Worth It?

In my opinion, Shopkick isn’t worth it on its own. The app has a low earning potential, and the value of kicks is very low. 

One kick is equivalent to $0.004, so it may take some time to accumulate a significant number, especially if you’re not willing to spend your money on purchases.

Shopkick is worth considering if you frequently shop for items in bulk. Using multiple reward apps simultaneously is an excellent strategy to maximize your earnings.

How Much Is One Shopkick Worth?

One kick on Shopkick is equivalent to about $0.004.

How Does Shopkick Make Money?

Shopkick makes money by partnering with brands and retailers to market and attract new customers to try their products. 

When you purchase an item through Shopkick, they get a commission. You earn part of this commission as cashback. This is how most rebate apps make money. 

Some of Shopkick’s partner stores include:

• Target
• Walmart
• BestBuy
• Amazon
• Reebok
• Home Depot

Final Thoughts

I hope my Shopkick review has helped determine if this reward app is worth your time. Shopkick is an excellent way to make money on everyday purchases. However, it has a low earning potential. 

You may earn more money by completing several offers simultaneously. For instance, you can scan products as you shop for your items. 

Take care not to make unnecessary purchases just to earn a few kicks. The best way to maximize your earnings in this venture is by stacking several reward apps.

Looking for other money-making ideas? Check out:

• The Best $20 Sign Up Bonus Offers
• The Best $50 Sign Up Bonus Offers