NCPMobile: Shopping Rewards

NCPMobile is the app of National Consumer Panel, and it operates a straightforward exchange that is worth understanding clearly before joining. You scan the barcodes of things you buy, or describe items that have no barcode, and in return you earn points redeemable for gift cards and other rewards. What the company receives is data about consumer purchasing, which is used for market research. That is the whole arrangement: your shopping habits in exchange for rewards. Being explicit about that is fairer than presenting it as free money. Whether it suits you depends on how you feel about a company knowing what your household buys, and on whether the reward rate justifies the few minutes of scanning after each shop. For many people it does, particularly as scanning takes seconds per item and can be done while unpacking bags. The scope is broader than groceries. Fuel, prescriptions and general purchases can all be reported, which increases what you earn from the same effort. Surveys and games within the app provide additional points beyond scanning. Membership is by invitation to the panel, so this is not a general rewards app anybody can simply install and start using. For existing panel members it replaces a handheld scanner with the phone already in your pocket.