So my cousin was here and saw a grocery receipt on the table and asked if I was using it and if he could take a picture of it, I was like what, why?
So, there is this app that pays you some cents for receipt pictures and supposedly it pays you if it finds items that have cashback… shit sounds sketchy as fuck, I saw that on their app they sell credit cards and you can invest in some crap, but what I really found disturbing is this thing about them paying you to send them all your receipts… what the fuck are they doing with that info lol
Crazy stuff, but I’m completely out of touch with cellphone things, is this crap normal??? I was quite shocked by it, and checking the company online, Méliuz, I just see stuff about it buying bitcoin.
I was bored so I looked up these apps for receipt scanning and it looks like it’s a combination of couponing and consumer data broker. Most of them require you to activate promos on the app first, go shopping, then get “cash back” for certain promo items when you take a picture of the receipt.
I’m guessing this is on top of the discounts you can get directly from grocery store apps (which are surely already brokering purchase data).
One or two of the apps don’t require activating offers at all so I guess those ones are JUST data brokering.
Another interesting one I’ve seen: Upside.
It isn’t necessarily encouraging to buy a specific product, but rather to buy from specific businesses.
To the consumer: they look at the app and buy gas from participating stores, which typically show as having a 5-10 cent discount on gas. The customer uploads a picture of their receipt to confirm the purchase and amount, and get credited that discount. Theres a monthly purvhase target that unlocks a 1 time discount of 30 cents per gallon, etc.
To the business: they pay a fee to Upside to be a participant. Upside promises to only participate with a certain % of stores in the area. It’s likely the business also pays for some of the discounts obtained.
Essentially paying upside is meant to increase sales volume. While a gas station could just dicount their gas, they are paying Upaide to effectively advertise and steer consumers to THAT store. As Upside is national, many custpmers use it, even in unfamiliar areas to choose gas stations.
I say not a specific product, because my understanding is it’s extended to other business categories besides gas.
Market manipulation, ultimately. I’m sure in some part they are sellong your location & purchase data as well.