Shopping Rewards

Next time you're strolling the aisle of your local grocery store or scoping out items at the pharmacy, you could be earning rewards.

CheckPoints is a new, free retail rewards app that users to accrue points instantly redeemable for real-world prizes, by checking-in to over a million retail locations across the U.S. and scanning barcodes on advertised products. 

Shoppers earn rewards just for checking in. No purchase necessary. (Think Foursquare for the grocery store.)

Here's how it works:

• Users scan featured product barcodes in stores to accrue reward points. CheckPoints product partners to date include Belkin, Energizer, Seventh Generation, and Tyson Foods.

• After scanning, users will see a “post check-in” screen that could include a coupon, mini-game or link to the brand’s mobile website, social page, app, etc.  (i.e. if someone scans Tyson Any’tizers, they will receive a post check-in mini game that lets them “flick” a chicken nugget through goal posts.  They position Any’tizers as a “snack for football get-togethers”) 
  
• Users then cash in their rewards for real prizes – i.e. gift cards, airline miles or gadgets like the iPad

CheckPoints is giving out enough bonus points to allow new users to get a $1 gift card through Oct. 18, making it the first app to cost “negative one dollar.”