Rapid shopBeacon™ Adoption Is the Latest shopkick Success Signal

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- shopkick, the most widely used real-world shopping app, today reported rapid expansion across several key company metrics, from expanded testing of its leading edge shopBeacon technology to the cash value awarded to its growing consumer-base. Among the fastest-growing metrics is the deployment of shopBeacon, which started with 2 Macy's stores in late November and will be active in thousands of stores nationwide by the end of Q1.

"We have created a unique business model for shopping – a win, win, win for shoppers; retailers and brand partners; and for ourselves – and the current traction shows we've made great strides in all three metrics," said Cyriac Roeding, CEO and Co-Founder of shopkick. "We have more shoppers, benefiting a bigger network of brands and retailers, and the most leading-edge in-store technology.  We are becoming the trusted shopping companion for millions."

As testament to the growth and impact shopkick has had on retail technology, The World Economic Forum (WEF) named shopkick a Technology Pioneer in 2013, an honor previously given to Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia. In January 2014, Forbes ranked shopkick as one of the 100 Most Promising Companies in America (#35) and no. 4 in the media category overall.

Shopkicker's Just Can't Get Enough:

• Nielsen in January 2014 again rated shopkick the most used real-world shopping app, ahead of any physical retailers' own apps, having the most active users, and the most time spent in the app per user per month (1h 50 min; second most used app is eBay with 1h 5min)
• 25 million dollars have been earned by users; 7 million gift cards redeemed
• 70 million products scanned, with at least 14 million scanned in the most recent quarter
• 35 million walk-ins, with nearly 6 million walk-ins in the most recent quarter
• 4 billion product offers viewed, at a rate of 1 billion per quarter, and over 100 per user per day, up from 5-8 products per day per user in 2011

The user stats are especially noteworthy because of who makes up the shopkick demographic: 70% of users are women, and the typical shopkick user is a 31-year-old mother with one child.

Big Brands on Beacon Choose shopBeacon
In 2013, shopkick pioneered the use of Beacon and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology in retail with shopBeacon, a shopkick-patented location technology for in-store presence that uses ultrasound, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

"Beacon technology has been met with huge enthusiasm among retailers – but also the need to work with a trusted partner who knows how to manage security, offer management, rewards management, and how to deploy cutting edge technology in the large, complex infrastructure of national retailers," continued Roeding. "We treasure that role we've won with partners and shoppers and are excited for the added value shopBeacon will bring."

The Macy's partnership was the first time a large mass retailer deployed a Beacon solution – even before Apple deployed its own. Since that launch right before Black Friday 2013, the traction has been intense:

• American Eagle Outfitters is deploying shopBeacon to 100 locations across the country, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Boston, and San Francisco
• By the end of the Q1 2014, shopkick will have shopBeacon deployed in more than a thousand retail stores

Updated Partner Alliance = Even More Rewards:

Today, more than 10,000 individual stores across multiple retailers and 250 of the country's largest malls are using shopkick. In addition, at more than thousands more stores across America, shopkick offers rewards for interacting with products from brand partners and for purchase.

• In 2013, shopkick drove more that $500 million in revenue to retail and brand partners; compared to $200 million in 2012 and $110 million in 2011
• Fifteen national retailer partners like Macy's, Old Navy, Best Buy, Target, American Eagle Outfitters, JCPenney, Crate and Barrel and The Sports Authority
• Over 150 brand partners, including P&G, Unilever, Mondelez, L'Oreal, Revlon, Pepsi, General Mills and HP
• New retail partners in 2013: JCPenney, Office Depot, Carter's and OshKosh B'Gosh

Shopkick delivers high-value rewards, in a currency called "kicks," to shoppers for a variety of actions they take as they go about shopping: being present in stores, browsing and interacting with products, and purchasing at participating retail stores as well as right within the app. Shoppers can redeem kicks to treat themselves with store gift cards, a free coffee or dinner, handbags, song downloads, movie tickets, donations to charity and more.

shopkick is free on the iPhone from the App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shopkick/id383298204?mt=8 and for Android from Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shopkick.app.

About shopkick, Inc.
The shopkick app is the ultimate shopping companion that inspires, organizes and rewards. At home or on the go, browse through themed "books" to be inspired by the latest fashion trends or products often hidden in the aisles and racks of popular stores. "Like" items anywhere you want, to be reminded next time you visit a store where they're sold. Connect with others of similar taste to discover and share coveted items. All this while earning rewards along the way for everyday shopping actions like store visits, picking up products at stores, and purchases.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) named shopkick a Technology Pioneer 2013, an honor previously given to Google, Twitter, and Wikipedia.  Forbes rated shopkick as one of America's 100 Most Promising Companies in 2014, and Nielsen ranked shopkick the most widely and often used real-world shopping app, ahead of any physical retailers' apps. Shopkick's growing Partner Alliance includes American Eagle Outfitters, Best Buy, Crate and Barrel, JCPenney, Macy's, MasterCard, Old Navy, Simon Property Group, Sony, The Sports Authority, Target, Visa, Procter & Gamble, Mondelez, Revlon, Unilever, Pepsi, Levi's, HP and more. The Redwood City-based company is funded by Kleiner Perkins' iFund, Greylock Partners and Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn and investor in Facebook.

SOURCE shopkick