As I promised, here is some more information for the scanner that I got Friday....
The
National Consumer Panel is a marketing research company that gathers information from average people like you and me and then processes it and sells it to various companies that want statistics on the buying habits of the American public.
Basically what we do is scan the barcodes of EVERY
(seriously, EVERY) item we purchase every day. It could be something as simple as a pop at the gas station, we scan it. A large trip to Aldi, we scan it.
NCP provides a hand scanner and detailed instructions.
Once a week, the scanner automatically transmits the information online to NCP and they add points into our point account. The more we transmit, the more points we get. In other words, if we go for so many consecutive weeks without forgetting to transmit our purchases, the number of points we get each week goes up.
If we forget, so we still get the minimum.
After you have been a member for a certain length of time
(I think it is 60 days, but don’t quote me on that) you can trade your points in for rewards.
Let me just tell you, their rewards are really nice.
We could get:
- Cuisinart Sandwich Grill (24,000 points)
- Hoover Cordless Wet/Dry Hand Vac (22,000 points)
- Huffy 6″ Princess Scooter (24,000 points)
and the list goes on. There are a TON of cool rewards we could turn our points in for, I just listed a few to give you an idea of what is out there.
Some things that interest me in the future are:
- 6 qt. Slow Cooker (28,000 points)
- Wenzel 2 Room Ponderosa Sport Dome Tent (48,000 points)
- Nintendo DL Lite (144,000 points)
- Samsung Camcorder (132,000 points)
- XBox 360 Elite Package (315,000 points)
And the list goes on. They also do quarterly drawings. The reward right now is a family vacation for four, a car, or $20,000 in cash!
Again, the more you transmit, the better your chances are of winning one of the quarterly prizes. The panel will also email you surveys every so often.
(I probably get two or so a week). You can log into their website, complete the survey
(Most take about 2-3 minutes to complete) and you are given extra points for that. The points can really add up fast if you aren’t forgetful like me.
If you are interested in joining, check out their site
National Consumer Panel. Sign up. They may not have a need for your demographic right away, but they will store your information and contact you later down the road as an opening comes up for your area.
Now, I’ll be honest, all of that scanning takes time and is a big
PAIN IN THE BUTT when you have already spent an hour or so at the grocery and still have to scan the items before you can put them away; but I am looking forward to the rewards, so in the end, I think it will be worth it!
Is anyone else a member of NCP? Drop a comment and let us know about your experience.
