ShopSavvy, a mobile app already recognized for its barcode-scanning and price comparison features, will now be offering personalized deals via a partnership with Capital One. Any user of the application who adds a Capital One credit card to the mobile wallet will be shown Capital One deals. Users will also receive a $20 credit on their bill following their first in-app purchase of $40 or more using the card.
From TechCrunch:
“The reason it’s interesting to us,” ShopSavvy CEO John Boyd explains, “is that it actually provides content to our customers. When they make a purchase of $40 or more, they’ll be eligible for a $20 statement credit from Capital One. But, then, they’re also eligible for Capital One deals, which is exclusive content to ShopSavvy users, based on what they’re interested in,” he says. “We want users, when they go to ShopSavvy, to feel like they get offers, coupons, and deals that they’re not going to see anywhere else, and we want to make that as easy as possible.”
ShopSavvy has traditionally offered neutral product recommendations, leading users to whichever retailer, online or brick-and-mortar, sells a good for the least. Currently, the app contains information about 20 million products and 40,000 retailers. ShopSavvy’s current goal is to provide users with not only information on which stores sell the good for the cheapest at full value, but also which merchants are offering deals, discounts, or coupons, making them the least expensive retailer at that particular moment.
Generally, a service providing product recommendations would want to remain neutral, rather than appear biased. However, ShopSavvy isn’t providing recommendations on product quality or merchant service. ShopSavvy deals exclusively with price comparisons. If it can offer a sponsored deal that provides users with a lower cost on a desired item, they are still fulfilling their stated purpose. A user generally won’t care if merchant A always offers an item at a lower price than merchant B, or if merchant A is only offering the better deal through an agreement with ShopSavvy. Either way, the user is getting the best deal possible, making this an ideal partnership for a service like ShopSavvy.
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