I'm trying out a new grocery rebate app
By Yuki
@yukimori (10192)
United States
November 5, 2015 11:24pm CST
I've been using a few apps to get cash back on my grocery purchases for the last year. Tonight I had trouble with the Snap by Groupon app on my Android tablet, so I went to the App Store to download it onto my iPod.
When I searched for it, another app called Shrink came up. Shrink is pretty similar to most other rebate apps: you activate offers, scan the barcode for the item after purchasing, and submit photos of your grocery receipt.
I got $1 in my account just for creating an account. There were two offers I could redeem in my list, so I submitted them for another $0.50.
Most of the offers seem to be for healthier or organic brands. Unlike other rebate apps, you can earn additional offers by gaining points for interacting with brands. Points are brand-specific, so if you earn points from interacting with a brand by Tweeting about it or sharing on Facebook you can only redeem them for that brand's rewards.
From the sound of it, you can get cash back on the first time you purchase a specific item, and then earn points when you purchase it again and submit another receipt. Points can be used to unlock additional cash back rewards, which seems like a nifty way to encourage repeat purchases.
I'm not sure I'll be redeeming many of the brands offered, but I'm hoping to see some more non-exclusive offers like the pumpkin and bagged candy rebates I submitted tonight. Shrink is available for both Android and iOS, too, which makes it really convenient.
Have you ever tried any rebate apps? If you have, which one's your favorite so far?
Earn cash & rewards every time you go grocery shopping. Shrink helps you discover awesome brands, get cash back coupons, and unlock loyalty rewards like freebies and extra cash!
15 people like this
20 responses
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
6 Nov 15
A lot of them are just on expensive brands I don't buy. I like Checkout 51 and Ibotta because they let me get small rebates on produce. SavingStar does it, too, but I don't like it as much as some of the others.
I don't mind submitting them because even small savings will add up eventually. Maybe not profitable, but it's given me a few hundred dollars back that we've put into our holiday fund.
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
6 Nov 15
@AbbyGreenhill Oh, that's right. You mentioned that they told you your receipt was out of date or something... they do tend to be really fussy about them, and the cutoffs are weird. Their week goes from Thursday-Wednesday.
At least most of the other apps will let you submit receipts in X days, rather than requiring you to adhere to their weird time frames.
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
6 Nov 15
@yukimori That's the one I had issues with!
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11383)
• United States
7 Nov 15
My favorite by far is Checkout51 and Saving Star. I really like Saving Star because they send the cash to your paypal and my rewards cards are linked with it so I don't even have to send in photos of the receipts.
2 people like this
@Shellyann36 (11383)
• United States
7 Nov 15
@yukimori I like Ibotta as well but when I had it on my smartphone it took up so much space and I was constantly getting updates and it drove me crazy. I finally just deleted the app.
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
7 Nov 15
@Shellyann36 It doesn't seem to update so frequently these days.
My only complaint with it is that the offers tend to load slowly. I liked it better when the offers would be listed horizontally.
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
7 Nov 15
I loved it when I didn't have to submit my purchases manually. The store I usually shop at switched to receipt submission, and I didn't find out until I asked why my purchases weren't crediting. They said they sent an email. I didn't get it.
My favorite right now has to be Ibotta just because they have a really nice variety of produce offers.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
7 Nov 15
SavingStar works like that, as I do most of my shopping through Walmart. When I shop other places I don't need to scan the item or receipt and I find that easier, but I do most of my grocery shopping at Walmart.
I've also started using receipt hog that gives you points just for scanning the receipt. I haven't made a payout yet though.
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
7 Nov 15
How does reciept hog work? I don't use savings star as the only store I can use it at with the savings card is one of the most expensive in the area so I don't bother. I don't mind savings catcher by WM but that's the only app like that I use.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
7 Nov 15
@yukimori Yes, I use Savings Catcher also. I've only recently started using it and I have $8 so far that I can get back. I'm also saving that up for a bit. I will take most low rewards just to have it.. I'd rather it be somewhere accessible just in case the app/site goes under. You never know.
2 people like this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
7 Nov 15
I use ReceiptHog, too. There's another similar app called ReceiptPal that's pretty good, too. I have enough points to be paid on both, but I'm saving up for higher valued rewards.
Do you do Savings Catcher? I try to submit all of my receipts from Walmart. Sometimes it catches some really good sales that I missed.
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
6 Nov 15
I joined one site, can't think of the name, it was a royal pain in the your know what. I would buy what they said to buy then not get credit because I bought it at the wrong store or sometime silly. I think some of these things are a waste of time.
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
6 Nov 15
Some of them really are a gigantic pain in the behind. I think the worst one I've used would have to be Jingit. It started off really good, where you could earn money just by watching videos on their website and things like that. Now, they've apparently got very limited offers that are posted in the morning. Usually I just see a blank page when I check it because everything has been taken by other users. 
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
6 Nov 15
@AbbyGreenhill Oh, really? I like that one, aside from the fact that their payment threshold is really high and they only send checks.
It's one of the ones I do, but never cash out on unless I really need to. 
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
6 Nov 15
@yukimori The one I used was Checkout 51 - never again!
1 person likes this
@lokisdad (4226)
• United States
19 Nov 15
@yukimori phones these days seem to be made with poor quality which is why they're made so inexpensive for us to buy. The phones we have aren't bad but they're slide and don't have much memory you download a few apps and then you have to delete stuff because there's not enough space.
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
6 Nov 15
That sounds like the NCP homescan program. I did that for a while, but it was pretty tedious. You have to scan everything you buy and submit it. I think the point values were fairly low, too.
I like things like the Nielsen panel apps you can install... those let you earn money without requiring any activity on your part.
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
7 Nov 15
I have not tried this one. I've tried Ibotta and another I can't recall the name. But honestly I wasn't impressed as these are often for items I don't buy. I don't buy name brands typically so it's useless for me and I don't feel they need to see what else I'm buying.
1 person likes this
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
10 Nov 15
I haven't seen anyone mention CheckPoints yet. There are different ways to earn points, but I mainly use it to scan products in the store (no requirement to buy the product, just scan the barcode and rack up points) and I 'check in' to nearby places for extra points.
The App That Pays You Back! Now in over a million places where you shop! Check-in, earn points, and redeem for rewards! What has your phone done for you lately?
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
6 Nov 15
I wish my grocery stores would send me coupons by mail.
Almost all of the coupons that I use are ones that I print at home. I do it through Swagbucks, so when they go through the clearing house I get credited $0.10 each just for using them.
Almost all of the coupons that I use are ones that I print at home. I do it through Swagbucks, so when they go through the clearing house I get credited $0.10 each just for using them.2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502316)
• Italy
7 Nov 15
@yukimori I appreciate our system. We show a card every time we buy something, this way we add up "points". At the end of each month, we receive int he mail a booklet of coupons and a cash coupon equal to the 2% of what we spent during the month. It's not too bad.
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
7 Nov 15
@LadyDuck That sounds like a nice way to do it. We have store-specific loyalty programs that they use to target digital coupons to us. We also get points for shopping that can be redeemed at their fuel centers for discounts on gas. The typical discount is $0.10 off per gallon for every $100 spent.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
6 Nov 15
Sounds like a good app. I've used Groupon in the past but didn't know about Snap or Shrink. Are they similar?
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
6 Nov 15
@yukimori Groupon is very limited where I live - they only had one restaurant which used to be decent but it went down the tubes...so I won't waste money even with a few bucks off.
2 people like this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
6 Nov 15
@AbbyGreenhill I'm not even sure what offers they have in my area. I looked after Ricki's posts here got me interested again, but I've found that Living Social currently has a lot more interesting options to choose from.
1 person likes this
@simpleliving3251120 (497)
• Manahawkin, New Jersey
11 Nov 15
I have never tried these types of apps. I once saw a few mom's scanning products with their phones at Target one morning. Thanks for the info!
@rahulvsmokiee (3110)
• Thiruvananthapuram, India
8 Nov 15
Mine favourite is pepper tap which is available in Chennai. There , they delivers product in just 2 hours and what the speciality is that we get 500rs voucher for referring 5 friends. So i just buy products from my friends phone with my referral . now i already got 1000 rupees in my pppertap app.
@Pattitude (1286)
• Newton, North Carolina
25 Nov 15
Thank you, I have never heard of this one. I will check it out. Do you use Ibotta and Saving Star?
@vickyrose (2236)
• Cooma, Australia
6 Nov 15
No, I haven't tried any of these yet, but I subscribe to free vouchers online and get more than $1 rebate sometimes. A great way to save money.
1 person likes this
