Quick Links/Jump To: ▶︎ So, how do supermarket cashback apps work? ▶︎ What are the best supermarket cashback apps in the UK? ▶︎ Shopmium ▶︎ CheckoutSmart ▶︎ GreenJinn ▶︎ Benefits of Using Supermarket Cashback Apps ▶︎ Tips for Maximising Savings with Supermarket Cashback Apps
What's a supermarket cashback app? Why should you use one, and which ones are best? We have all the answers!
Grocery shopping is unavoidable, but did you know you can earn money back from some purchases? Supermarket cashback apps have become increasingly popular in the UK, offering a convenient way to save money on everyday items. These aren't to be confused with a cashback site such as TopCashback or Quidco or gift card cashback apps such as JamDoughnut, Cheddar or Everup. These are different, although they can be combined with other cashback apps, and I'll explain this further in the blog post!
This blog post will explore the best cashback apps to sign up with to earn cashback rewards, their benefits, and how to make the most of them.
First, let's look at what a supermarket cashback app is. In a nutshell, these apps will show you a selection of specific products from various brands, and the cashback app will, if you buy them, refund you a percentage of what you paid for them. The amount of money you get back will depend on the specific offer advertised, and each product may offer a different cashback percentage. This might be, as an example, half-price cashback on a product, perhaps 50p off a product, or perhaps the best cashback of all, a 100% cashback refund of what you paid!
A supermarket cashback service differs from a conventional cashback service, which rewards you cashback for a whole purchase from a retailer such as a supermarket. A supermarket cashback service will reward you cashback on a specific product from your supermarket purchase, usually at a higher percentage rate of between 25% and 100% of what you paid for that product.
So, how do supermarket cashback apps work?
All these supermarket cashback apps pretty much work in the same way:
1. You select a product or products from what is on offer and then buy it as usual with your normal shopping. In most cases, this purchase could be made in-store at a supermarket or as part of an online order you place for collection or delivery. The product details will tell you if it must be purchased in-store or if an online purchase is also acceptable.
2. Once you've purchased the product, go to the cashback app, and you can make a cashback claim for the product or products. You'll need the receipt for this, so make sure you don't throw it away or take your receipt from the cashier or self-service till! No receipt = no cashback!
3. Select which products you are claiming cashback for, using the app. Depending on which app you are using, this might be simply selecting the products from a list, or you may be using your phone to scan the barcode of the product you are claiming.4. Once you've selected all the products you are claiming cashback on, you'll need to upload your receipt to the app. This is a very simple process; you just need to use the app to photograph your receipt, which will then be uploaded to the system. If you have a very long receipt or made a big purchase, the app will allow you to take multiple pictures of it to upload.
4. Once the app has received your receipt images, it will process your cashback claim. Depending on the app, this might take a few minutes or a day or two.6. Once your claim has been processed, the cashback amount will be applied to your app's cashback account. In some cases, you may need to wait until you have accumulated a larger amount of cashback before you can withdraw your money; some apps may automatically send you cash back to a PayPal account within a. day or two, so you don't need to make further cashback claims to cash out.7. Once you have enough money to withdraw funds from apps that don't send the cashback to you automatically, you can select to have your cashback earnings sent to a PayPal account or a bank account. The amount of time it takes to receive the money can vary from the next day to a week or so.
What are the best supermarket cashback apps in the UK?
The UK has three main supermarket cashback apps: Shopmium, CheckoutSmart and GreenJinn. Each app offers different products and offers, (unless you get really lucky and two apps have the same product on offer, meaning you could claim from both!), and the deals tend to change more or less weekly, so check every week for the latest deals, (and keep an eye on the apps social media pages for information on new offer), and it's is always worth checking the apps daily as its far from unusual to find one day offers pop up, especially for free products (100% cashback), and so you have to react quickly if you want to take advantage of the deal!
Here's more information on each of the apps:
Shopmium
Shopmium is one of the most popular cashback apps in the UK, offering discounts and freebies on a wide range of products from major supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Morrisons, and Ocado. In my opinion, they often offer the best deals and rewards. Here are some key features of Shopmium:
- The Shopmium app is free to download and use.
- Offers change regularly, providing new opportunities to save
Earn cashback by uploading a picture of your receipt after purchasing the featured products. However, with this app, you'll need to scan the product's barcode using your phone and app, so make sure you haven't already used that product and thrown away the packaging before you claim the cashback for it!
- The way you get your cashback has recently changed. Any cashback you earn will added to your Shopmium wallet, and once you have £10 or more in the wallet, you can withdraw your cashback to you bank account or to PayPal.
- Shopmium club, which puts you on different levels depending on how many cashback requests you make. You start on the silver level, and then if you make five cashback requests, you'll move up to the Gold level. Once you move to Gold, you'll find out first about new offers, get your cashback faster and get a birthday freebie, which is normally a decent-sized bar of chocolate, sometimes even a box of chocolates!
You can participate in the Shopmium Referral program, which rewards you with £3 of cashback credit for each friend you refer. The £3 is added to your Shopmium wallet, and this £3 will count towards your £10 minimum withdrawal amount. Your friends will also get a free welcome gift, which, as I write this, is a free bag of Cadbury's Buttons.
- Full retailers listed on the app, that may have offers available are: Tesco, Tesco.com, Sainsbury's, Sainsburys.com, Asda, Asda.com, Morrisons, Morrisons.com, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Aldi, Amazon UK, B&M Bargains, Booths, Boots, Boots.com, BP, Budgens, Co-op. Other retailers do pop up from time to time as well, but on the whole, it's the big supermarkets you'll find offers in.
▶︎ If you want to sign up, please feel free to use our referral link and referral code, G2AG3. You can download the app on Google Play or the Apple Store. You'll get free chocolate for signing up using our referral link 👀 There's a more detailed blog post about Shopmium here.
CheckoutSmart
CheckoutSmart operates similarly to Shopmium. It is free to download and use and offers cashback on specific grocery items at selected retailers. This great app allows you to select products from a list of deals rather than scanning the product's barcode.
- Offers at major supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, and Morrisons, as well as online purchases from selected online retailers.
- I find the offers easier to browse through than its main rival Shopmium, as the offers available and the cashback amounts are very easy to see on the app; the Shopmium system makes you click on each product to see the cashback rate, which I find to be slower and a bit annoying, but I suspect it's done that way to make sure as many people click on that product as possible, which is good for brand recognition!
- Minimum payout of £5.00 for this app, and payouts of less than £19.99 will incur a withdrawal fee of 5% of your total
- CheckoutSmart doesn't have a referral service.
CheckoutSmart doesn't have a club scheme, similar to Shopmium; however, select users might be invited to the CheckoutSmart RRP scheme, which offers more opportunities for exclusive offers (often free food) in exchange for a product review.
Partner retailers listed on the app that may have offers available are: Tesco, Tesco.com, Sainsbury's, Sainsburys.com, Asda, Asda.com, Morrisons, Morrisons.com, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Aldi, Amazon UK, B&M Bargains, Booths, Boots, Boots.com, BP, Budgens, Co-op, Costco, Costco.com, Farnfoods, Heron Foods, Holland & Barrett, Holland & Barrett.com, Iceland, Iceland.com, Jollyes, Lidl, Lloyds Pharmacy, Londis, Marks & Spencer, Moto, Nisa-Todays, Ocado, One Stop, Pets at Home, Premier, Savers, Shell, Spar, Superdrug, Superdrug.com, The Food Warehouse, Today's / Day Today, Waitrose, Waitrose Cellar, Waitrose.com, Wetherspoons, WH Smith, WH Smith Travel, Whsmith.co.uk, Whole Foods, Wilko, The Range. ▶︎ You can download the CheckoutSmart app here for Android or Apple phones. A more detailed blog post about CheckoutSmart is here.
GreenJinn
GreenJinn is a cashback app focused on promoting sustainable and eco-friendly products. While it may have fewer offers than other apps, it provides an opportunity to save money while supporting environmentally conscious brands. Here are some key features of GreenJinn:
- Offers at major supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose
- Emphasis on sustainable and eco-friendly products means you'll find fewer 'junk' food products listed.
Earn cashback by adding the products you want to claim to the app basket and then checking out, as you would when buying something online. Upload the photo of your receipt as part of the process to request your cashback and claim it.
- Minimum payout of £1.50 for this app, so it doesn't take long to be able to make a withdrawal to your PayPal or bank account.- The full retailers listed on the app that may have offers available are Tesco, Tesco.com, Sainsbury's, Sainsburys.com, Asda, Asda.com, Morrisons, Morrisons.com, Amazon Fresh, Booths, Boots, Boots.com, Co-op, Holland & Barrett, Holland & Barrett.com, Marks & Spencer, Ocado, One Stop, Waitrose, Waitrose Cellar, Waitrose.com, WH Smith, and Whole Foods.
▶︎ You'll get an exclusive £1 sign-up bonus for GreenJinn by using this link to download the app to your Android or Apple device and using the referral code: thepennypincher2024 There's a more detailed blog post about CheckoutSmart on the blog here.
Benefits of Using Supermarket Cashback Apps
1. Save Money on Everyday Purchases: Cashback apps allow you to earn money back on items you would have purchased anyway, effectively reducing your grocery bill. Be aware, though, that unless the item you're going to buy for cashback is essentially free (100% cashback), it's going to cost you money in the long run, so try and choose products that you can use instead of something on your shopping list to maximise your savings!
2. Discover New Products: By browsing the offers on these apps, you may discover new products or brands that you wouldn't have otherwise considered, expanding your shopping options. I've found new products that I wouldn't have likely not bought had it not been as part of a cashback offer, which has broadened my culinary horizons!
3. Convenience: Instead of the old style of clipping coupons or searching for deals, these supermarket cashback apps provide a centralised platform for finding discounts and earning cashback. Watch out for discount codes published on the app's social media pages for exclusive or unpublished offers that offer even more savings or opportunities to try new products.
4. Referral Programs: Opportunities to take advantage of the Shopmium referral program, allowing you to earn additional credit or bonuses for inviting friends and family to join
Tips for Maximising Savings with Supermarket Cashback Apps
1. Only Purchase Items You Need: While the discounts and freebies can be tempting, it's important to avoid impulse purchases and only buy items you would have purchased anyway
2. Check for Double Discounts: Look for products that are listed on more than one cashback app (rare but does happen) so you can claim more than once, which means it's free money!
3. If possible, use a cashback app such as the gift card cashback apps to pay for your shop. This means you will earn cashback on the initial gift card purchase and then get cashback on the products as well from the supermarket cashback app, so you'll potentially make a small profit (usually pretty small, but it all adds up!) Also, you could use a credit card or debit card that gives you cashback on your purchase to pay, such as the Chase 1% cashback account.
4. Upload Receipts Promptly: To ensure you receive your cashback, upload your receipt and any required product information as soon as possible after making your purchase; it is very easy to forget to do it, and then you might lose out on the cashback entirely! Try to claim the cashback when you get home with the goods so you don't forget! If you use receipt scanning apps to earn money on your receipts, you can also use these cashback receipts for these purchases to earn extra money!
5. Refer Friends and Family: Take advantage of the Shopmiums referral program to earn additional credit or bonuses for inviting others to join the cashback apps
6. Nothing stops you from setting up accounts for other family members and yourself, and then maximise the promotions by purchasing multiples of the deals and claiming on each family member's app! For example, my partner has all the same apps I do, and if I find a good deal, I'll buy two and claim one through my app and the other one through my partner's app. If you do this, you'll need to make sure that you get separate receipts for each item, as each receipt can only be scanned once as it remembers the receipt number and so if you put two items on one receipt, you'll only be able to claim once; so get a separate receipt for the 2nd item and use that second receipt to claim. This works especially well for free items, as you can then get two instead of one, or even more if you have multiple people with the apps!
7. A bonus tip is always to scan the retailer's loyalty cards. You might earn extra points or cash rewards for the purchase, which improves the deal even further!
8. Check the apps frequently so you don't miss out on any limited-time promotions!
9. Remember that all the information you scan onto the apps can be used by the app for its own purposes. Information about you and your buying preferences may be used internally by the app, it may be passed onto the brands or marketing departments of the brand or could be sold on to other service providers such as financial products or motor insurance/home insurance companies, as examples, so your personal data may be used by others. Still, it's not any different to many other apps, including loyalty card apps, as they all use your data in one way or another!
10. make sure you have all three of these apps on your phone! It maximises the amount of cash you could earn from your groceries!
By incorporating supermarket cashback apps into your grocery shopping routine, you can earn money back on your purchases and stretch your budget further. Remember to use these apps responsibly and only purchase items you truly need to maximise your savings, but they are a great way to save money and try new products/brands!