So what is the Amazon Shopper Panel?
Already well established in the US, the UK launch of the Amazon Shopper Panel, without a considerable fanfare, recently arrived on these shores, and it's a pretty simple way to earn £60 per year for not doing very much!
The Amazon Shopper Panel is Amazon's take on the receipt scanning app side hustle, which rewards you for scanning your payment receipts, from goods you buy in-store and online, onto an app. You can claim a reward once you have scanned a certain amount. The Amazon version works similarly; its primary benefit is that you only have to scan ten receipts per month to claim its maximum £5 per month reward!
What is a receipt scanning app?
A receipt scanning app designed to monetise your receipts is usually conducted via an app and requires you to scan your collected receipts from your various offline and online purchases to earn enough to receive a reward.
It can be slow to be able to scan enough receipts to get you a payout; some you will have to scan dozens of receipts to earn enough for a reward, and most certainly aren't going to make you £5 every month. However, the Amazon version is going to be pretty easy to be able to redeem £5 every month, as you only need to scan ten receipts a month!
You can submit both paper receipts ping trips and forward any email receipts you may have as well, so it's pretty easy to submit ten receipts a month!
What receipts can I submit to the Amazon system?
Most receipts for purchases made within the past 30 days are eligible, including those from retailers (such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and department stores) and entertainment outlets (such as restaurants, cinemas, and theme parks). Receipts from Amazon.co.uk and other Amazon stores, including Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, are not eligible. Receipts for gambling, mortgage and rent, transport, school tuition fees or childcare, medical expenses, legal or financial services, handwritten receipts, non-English language receipts, receipts from outside the UK or duplicate receipts are also not eligible and should not be submitted. Receipts must contain clear text and not be blurry, faded, or otherwise unreadable. Email receipts must contain the receipt in the body of the email and cannot include attachments and must be sent from the email address associated with your Amazon account.
As well as receipt scanning, there is also a survey option. The occasional paid survey will also be offered to you, asking your views on particular products, which may be of interest to you or your opinions on things such as new adverts or services. I got a survey immediately, which took 10 seconds and was worth 25p.
When do I get paid?
The scheme pays you once your account reaches the minimum redemption amount of £5, and this is paid via a £5 Amazon gift card. The payments tend to be sent to you within the first few days of a new month, so as an example, your payment for February's receipt scans is sent to you in the first few days of March.
Who can take part?
The scheme is by invitation only for Amazon customers, and in theory, Amazon will send you an email asking you if you want to take join up; however, I just downloaded the app, which was on the Apple app page, and signed up, and it registered me immediately, and off I went, so I think at the moment anyone can join up, but if it is full, it will allow you to join a waiting list.
Is it safe?
The system is as safe as any of the other receipt scanning apps; you have to be aware that whatever information you send them, about what you buy, where you buy it and how much you spend, is likely to be used by Amazon for marketing reasons, plus also I suspect this information will be sold to others, but being Amazon already know rather a lot about my spending habits, being that every other purchase I make is from them, I'm not that worried, plus as I use many other receipt scanning apps, I have to accept that my information is most likely already in circulation, and used by many other marketing companies, and so one more isn't going to make much difference. I would rather earn £5 a month, or £60 a year, for them having my info than me simply throwing my receipt in the bin!
Also, consider the following receipt scanning apps to monetise your till receipts; it can really add up if you use them all!
You can find all the information on the system on the Amazon Shopper Panel homepage.
