How to Create an App Like Fetch Rewards: Business Model, Features, and Technologies

The idea behind Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards is a loyalty app that rewards users for making grocery purchases with points, which they can then redeem for additional benefits like gift cards and e-money or simply donate. To earn points, users should upload photos of their receipts/checks to Fetch Rewards. Users can then redeem their points for gift cards that can be used at participating retailers like Amazon and Target. Typically, 1000 points are worth $1.

Users can earn points even if products on receipts are not from partner brands.

However, users can earn extra points when purchasing affiliate products.

Marketers can take advantage of Fetch Rewards to increase purchases for their brands. Businesses can also use Fetch Rewards to reach a specific target audience.

For example, a skincare brand might only send coupons to users who have recently purchased a similar product. Marketers can then gain analytics and insights into shopping and buying habits (for example, what other products customers buy along with the brand’s products). Fetch Rewards generates income from purchase commissions.

Fetch Rewards business model

Affiliate commission

The bulk of the revenue that Fetch Rewards brings in comes from affiliate commissions. Affiliate companies compensate Fetch whenever a customer buys any of their products. Fetch Rewards then earns a small percentage of that revenue. The exact percentage depends on the contract signed between Fetch and the partner brand. 

There are several reasons why brands are willing to compensate Fetch Rewards for these purchases. First, brands are exclusively advertised on the platform. For example, Fetch Rewards will not partner with Coca-Cola to promote Pepsi products.

Second, brands can then get an aggregated view of users’ behavior and rate which of their products perform best. Third, brands can promote certain products by increasing the points customers earn. In the end, repeat purchases in a product category will ultimately lead to increased customer loyalty and greater brand awareness.

Interchange fees

At the end of 2020, Fetch launched its own Mastercard debit card, allowing users to earn points by paying with their card. Dubbed Fetch Pay, this card works just like any other debit card. Customers can use it wherever Mastercard is accepted. Fetch Rewards has partnered with One to ensure regulatory compliance and customer support.

When paying with a credit card, there is a so-called exchange fee. Exchange fees are paid by the seller and are typically less than one percent. Fetch Rewards receives a portion of this fee (charged by Mastercard) in return for promoting the card to users. The actual percentage has not been released.

Fetch Rewards features

When making your own rewards app, you should pay attention to the features that apps like Fetch have. To make your app even better, consider including the most important and successful features and adding some that are missing in existing apps. Now, let’s take a look at the features that Fetch Rewards has to offer. 

Registration

Fetch Rewards lets users choose between three methods of registration. The first is to sign up via a social media account like Facebook or Instagram. The second is standard registration using an email, name, and other contact details. The third is registration via phone number. The easier registration is, the more users will register in your app. 

Reward tiers

In Fetch Rewards, users get rewarded with gift cards valued between $3 and $50. Sometimes users prefer to claim smaller rewards without waiting for more points to get larger rewards

User profiles

In user profiles, users should be able to add personal information and edit details. User profiles in a lending app should let users display photos, names, and short descriptions.

Special offers

When visiting the home page of the Fetch app, also referred to as the Discover page, you’ll see special offers that can earn users thousands of bonus points. These offers can be for:

• Magazine subscriptions
• Grocery items
• Pet products
• Over-the-counter medications

Users should ensure that their purchases meet the special offer terms by clicking on the promotion and scrolling down to read the disclaimers.

Terms may include:

• Buying a product of a particular flavor
• Buying a specific product size
• Spending a certain amount in dollars
• Purchasing two or more products from the same brand

Users can make it easier to navigate their specials by sorting them by:

• Most recent
• Categories
• Points (high to low)
• Expiring first

Notifications

Use push notifications to improve user engagement and inform users about upcoming deals and offers. Also, keep users up to date with their points count.

Refer a friend

When someone registers a new Fetch Rewards account using their referral code, the account creator and the user who shared the referral code each receive 2000 Rewards Points. Users also get 2000 points when they create an account, and they earn 2000 points after scanning their first receipt. There is no limit to the number of points people can earn by inviting friends to subscribe in the Fetch app.

Activity

Activity shows users their app statistics and general points information such as recent receipts, points earned, and total spent. 

Six steps to develop an app like Fetch Rewards

Here are six steps to bring your rewards app idea to life and simplify the development process.

1. Research your app’s target market

When developing a rewards mobile app, the first thing you need to consider is your target audience. Understanding your users’ needs makes development easier and leads to a better final product. Find out as much as you can about your potential users. You can start by researching the following:

• Demographics. Find out the average age of your users, where they live, what devices they use, etc. 
• Behavioral trends. Find out what decreases a user’s desire to download an app, your users’ security expectations, and so on.

To develop an amazing mobile application, we suggest creating a user persona, or a detailed portrait of your ideal user.  

2. Choose the core features for your rewards app

Make a list of valuable features for your rewards app. Don’t forget to research the market to find out what features your target audience will need. Note that the market is full of great solutions, and to stand out, you’ll need to come up with a unique value proposition.

Once you’ve validated your app idea, you have something people want to use and want to pay for. To go the extra mile, at this point you can create wireframes. Remember to be as specific as possible when putting your idea on paper. It’s necessary to describe in detail the user’s path through the application as well as any intended functionality. This will help your developer better understand what you want.

3. Get rid of all non-essential features

As you study the document on threads and functions, look for functions that can be removed. Offer only your application’s core value. Features that are nice to have but can always be added later as an update should not be included in the first version. As a result, you can lower your initial development cost and get to market faster.

4. Choose a monetization model 

The next step is to choose the right monetization model for your mobile application. Now that you know your users’ needs, you can predict what your users will pay for. In addition to the affiliate fees charged by Fetch Rewards, here are some additional monetization models you can use:

• Paid. This monetization model is quite straightforward: users pay once to access your app. 
• Freemium. With this model, users can download your app for free. They can then pay to upgrade their accounts or use premium features. 
• In-app purchases. With in-app purchases, users can pay for different items, features, or content inside the app, such as stickers, filters, and gifts. 
• Advertising. You can choose one of the following ad options:
  • Cost per click. Charge advertisers every time a user interacts with their ads in your app. 
  • Cost per mille. Charge advertisers for every 1,000 ad impressions in your app.
  • Cost per action. Charge advertisers only when users complete a target action, such as installing an app or signing up for a newsletter.

5. Hire an app development team

The third step is to find a development team you want to work with. The first phase of development will include conducting business analysis, developing a technical specification, estimating the development cost, and planning the project. Before diving into the actual development of your mobile rewards app, you and your team should set up an app development workflow, choose the main features for the app, and design an app concept.

Then your development team should create project milestones and start working on the minimum viable product, or MVP. 

6. Create an MVP

Creating a rewards app is a big and complex project. We recommend launching a minimum viable product first and testing its technical and business performance. By using the MVP approach, you’ll be able to find out what users like and don’t like in your app. Then you’ll be able to consider their feedback and improve your app. 

Fetch Rewards competition

Ibotta

Ibotta provides a reward in the receipt scanning process. In addition to this method, it adds a system of interest payments and uses a browser extension to become more involved in users’ purchases. Ibotta enables customers to earn cash by receiving flat discounts or a cashback percentage on their purchases. This method may not be as straightforward as other apps, but it offers more opportunities for earning money.

Ibotta asks users for the discount they get when shopping online. This automation saves them time as their savings are used at the point of sale. Users don’t have to waste time tracking down Ibotta’s specials, although the app also lets them manually review and make their own decisions.

People can use the method that suits them best. Ibotta also allows users to purchase gift cards to take advantage of discounts right away. It has proposals and agreements with over 70 popular suppliers and works with thousands of products.

Receipt Hog

Receipt Hog is a mobile application owned by research firm InfoScout, which conducts market research for several companies. In Receipt Hog, users can receive gift cards in exchange for information about their buying habits. Besides scanning receipts for gift cards, the app allows users to earn coins by:

• Playing games (slots)
• Connecting store loyalty cards
• Filling out surveys

Rewards can be redeemed for Amazon gift cards or cash into a user’s PayPal account. Users can even customize their Receipt Hog avatars.

Rakuten

Rakuten is an application like Ibotta. It can help users save on their online purchases. In less than five minutes, a user can create an account that gives them access to over 2,500 brands available online and in store. When they spend the first $25 at a partner store, they receive a gift card.

Users can accumulate cash back from any online store. Rakuten returns this money by check, PayPal, PayPal deposit, or Amex Membership Bonus Points every three months.

Rakuten not only accepts refunds but offers coupons and discounts as well. The offers are varied and are all listed. To get discounts, users don’t need to search for emails with promotional codes. Offers include free shipping, 20% cashback coupons, and free products for qualifying purchases.

How much does it cost to build a rewards app?

The cost of developing an app like Fetch Rewards depends on these factors:

• Product features
• Product design
• Hourly rate of your development team
• Project size and complexity
• Technology stack
• Number of team members on the project
• Time frame

The biggest factor that influences a project’s cost is the hourly rate of developers, and that often depends on their location. For example, an application that costs $40,000 to build in the US will cost around $9,000 if developed by engineers in Ukraine.

Developing your project with a company based in Eastern Europe is cost-effective and gives you access to top talent.

Quick summary of developing an app like Fetch Rewards

Developing an app like Fetch Rewards is hard and time-consuming. But if done correctly, your app can become successful and bring a lot of value to users.   

Key takeaways:

• Fetch Rewards is a loyalty app that rewards users for making grocery purchases with points, which they can then redeem for additional benefits like gift cards and e-money.
• The bulk of the revenue that Fetch Rewards brings in comes from affiliate commissions. Affiliates compensate Fetch whenever a customer buys their products. Fetch Rewards then earns a small percentage of that income.
• When developing a mobile app, the first thing you need to consider is the target audience. 
• Choose the right monetization model for your mobile application: free, paid, freemium, or advertising.
• Find a development team to work with. The first phase of development will include business analysis, developing a technical specification, estimating the development cost, and planning the project.
• We recommend launching a minimum viable product (MVP) first and testing its technical and business performance. 

If you want to create an app like Fetch Rewards but don’t know where to start, contact Mobindustry for a free consultation.

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