Shopping triggers two emotional responses: gratification and remorse. Most of the time we feel gratified from purchasing items we’ve long pined for. Conversely, when we end up spending more than we should, it’s the latter that takes hold. Shopping is great, and we shouldn’t feel guilty about buying things as long as it’s within our allowed spending budget. To rid you of the guilt of shopping, Snapcart found a way to incentivize shoppers through its app. Here’s how.
What is Snapcart?
Snapcart is an Indonesia-based cashback platform launched recently in the Philippines. Users of the app can get rebates from capturing personal purchase receipts, meanwhile the app collects valuable data—purchase data, analytics, and real-time insights–in return.
Your trash bin is a goldmine. Why? Receipts stowed in the bin holds information about you. One example is your buying behaviour. This is beneficial to retailers as, with this data, they can create a blueprint for effectively marketing their products. Through receipts they are able to learn different product pricing and more, which serves as key information to help them better position their produce in the market. However, this valuable information is rather hard to acquire.
To encourage consumers not to carelessly throw away receipts, this humble start-up came up with the idea to reward customers and turn paper statements into big data at the disposal of brands and retailers.
How does the app work?
The app is free and can be installed on Android and iOS devices. Once you have the app, you have to create an account. You can either sign up via email or Facebook. For this review, I linked my Facebook account and found the process fast and easy.
Now that you have an account, you’ll be welcomed by quick how-to’s and can immediately snap receipts after.
Currently, the app only honors receipts of purchases from grocery stores, cosmetics, pharmacies, and fresh food. Any purchase statement from establishments not mentioned might be rejected. As it is scanned through your phone’s camera, receipts must be generated by automated cash registers with details clearly displayed. I didn’t know these when I first used the app, but a quick scan through the FAQs section helped me know the app better.
I have collected quite a number of receipts from grocery stores, can I scan them all? Snapcart allows a maximum of three receipt upload per day. You can scan remaining receipts the following day. Also know that the app will reject the receipt if it’s dated seven days after the purchase.
The Snapcart Experience:
If you consider yourself a social media expert, snapping receipts should come easy. The app has a built-in camera solely meant for scanning receipts accurately. You just have to position the statement on a flat surface and position your camera atop, just like creating a flat lay. If your receipt is long, there is an add button for capturing receipts from top to bottom within seconds. If in case you made a booboo, i.e. unintentionally moved the camera, Snapcart allows retakes. After you’ve uploaded the receipt, the app will now do its work.
In my experience, the app took around four hours to validate the receipt I uploaded. On the side, there are activities in-app you can partake in to gain coins while waiting. Coins can be used to play Snaptastic. This feature is like Wheel of Fortune, giving you a chance at winning more coins or prizes from the app’s various partners.
How do I redeem my cashbacks? Once you reach the minimum cash out amount, you will be redirected to a page where you are to provide more details to further verify your identity. After you’re done with the process, you can cash out via bank transfer or other channels such as pre-paid phone top-up, e-voucher, e-wallet. How long you get your cashback credit depends on your preferred cash out channel (average of seven working days). Note that there’s a PHP 20 transfer fee, which will be subtracted to your cash out amount.
Users also level up within the app depending on frequency of use. This allows them to receive bigger cashbacks in the long run.
Easy-to-use and a rewarding experience makes Snapcart a staple for shoppers. With this app you can keep buyer’s remorse at bay!
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE May 2017 Issue.
Words by Mia Carisse Barrientos