Amazon Will Give You $10 for Third-Party Purchase Data

Need to Know

• Customers using the Amazon Shopper Panel can earn cash rewards for submitting receipts from non-Amazon retailers, which can be used towards Amazon purchases.
• Amazon says it “may use” data gathered from these receipts to improve product selection at Amazon.com and Whole Food Market.
• The program is currently opt-in and invite-only.

Analysis

Amazon has launched a new program that rewards individuals for providing information on third-party purchases, the company announced this week.

The program, Amazon Shopper Panel, asks participants to submit up to 10 receipts per month of purchases made at non-Amazon stores. These can include grocery stores, theatres, pharmacies, or restaurants, however Whole Foods, Amazon Go, Amazon Four Star, and Amazon Books do not qualify. Program participants can use the Shopper Panel mobile app to photograph physical receipts or email digital receipts to a dedicated email address. A $10 reward is issued to qualifying participants, which can be used on Amazon purchases or used as a charitable donation.

Program users can also earn additional monthly rewards for completing surveys about brands and products of interest, or about advertisements. Amazon claims that when a panelist deletes a receipt, receipt information is also deleted.

The company says it may use customer data to improve product selection at Amazon.com and Whole Food Market and to improve the content selection available on services such as Amazon Prime. Amazon says the information may also help advertisers better understand the relationship between their ads and product purchases.

In a message to its advertisers announcing the launch of Amazon Shopper Panel, the company indicated that “customers routinely use Amazon to discover and learn about products before purchasing them elsewhere.”

“Brands therefore often look to third-party consumer panel and business intelligence firms like Nielsen and NPD, and many segment-specific data providers, for additional information,” the message continued. “Such opt-in consumer panels are well-established and used by many companies to gather consumer feedback and shopping insights.”

Amazon is just one of a handful of major retailers that is beginning to understand the power of third-party data. In March, Ikea made a historic foray into third-party marketplace retail, making its goods available for purchase on Alibaba, while Kroger expanded its third-party marketplace in the fall. Walmart’s Marketplace meanwhile, doubled in size thanks to a Shopify-supported expansion in July.

Amazon Shopper Panel is currently opt-in and invitation-only.