Shoparoo Donates Nearly Half A Million Dollars to U.S. Schools

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- InfoScout, the leading provider of real-time shopper insights, announced that it is donating almost half a million dollars this month to thousands of schools across the United States through its free fundraising platform, Shoparoo. The company also just released Shoparoo's largest redesign to date, in hopes of achieving its goal for the 2014-2015 school year: $1 million in donations.

Shoparoo is a free mobile app that allows users to take pictures of their grocery shopping receipts, and for each one, Shoparoo makes a cash donation to the user's chosen school. Just in time for the Back-to-School season, the company has released an updated version of the app that includes several new features that will help each school significantly boost their earnings.

One of the most significant new features of Shoparoo, "Every Receipt Counts", allows users to submit receipts from all types of retail stores including restaurants, clothing stores, and electronics retailers. Each non-grocery receipt earns the shopper's designated school an entry into both a $1000 monthly sweepstakes as well as a $15,000 annual sweepstakes. With the fundraising platform's added capabilities and the expected growth in participants, Shoparoo aims to reach that $1 million dollar donation mark by the end of the 2014-2015 school year. 

Behind the scenes, InfoScout anonymizes and aggregates the shopping receipt data, which is then analyzed to discover insights into purchasing trends. Retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, like Nestlé and Unilever, then pay for these insights in order to improve their products and optimize promotions. It's these revenues that fund much-needed donations to America's schools.

"We have a broken system where principals and underpaid teachers are taking money out of their own pockets to provide supplies for needy students," InfoScout co-founder and CEO Jared Schrieber explains. "We're proud to be able to funnel more and more of the money that brands and retailers spend on market research back into America's schools where it is so desperately needed."

These schools have been putting the donations from Shoparoo to good - and diverse -  use. One school in Illinois used the funds for much needed renovations, and another in Pennsylvania financed their own recycling program. One school even funded a program to plant a garden that is now home to herons, butterflies, and even an occasional deer. According to Janine McQueen, a mother and avid fundraiser, "This is such a fun and easy way to earn money for your school - I don't know why everyone isn't using it yet!"

About Shoparoo
Originally launched in August of 2012 as a hassle-free fundraiser, Shoparoo has quickly been adopted by parents, teachers, and administrators across the country. Available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, Shoparoo has grown from 200 participating schools in its first year to helping thousands of schools raise money by taking pictures of receipts and answering surveys. You can download the free app at www.Shoparoo.com to instantly begin supporting your local school.

About InfoScout
InfoScout is the leading provider of real-time shopper insights. Leading consumer goods companies such as Procter & Gamble, Nestle, and Unilever leverage InfoScout's rich data and analytics to measure and improve market share, brand loyalty, and the success of new product launches through a better understanding of the 'why behind the buy.' Founded in San Francisco in 2011, InfoScout is the brainchild of Jared Schrieber, a former Algebra teacher turned retail data analytics executive, and Jon Brelig, a serial entrepreneur in the web and mobile space. For more information, visit www.infoscout.co.

Media Contact
Cristin Zweig
InfoScout
[email protected]

SOURCE InfoScout