The new app from Frootfal promises to make earning cashback when shopping online much easier.
Cashback websites are nothing new. There are seemingly hundreds of them. However, the newest kid on the block, Frootfal, does things a little differently.
The new website comes with a downloadable PC app that promises to make earning cashback on purchases simpler than ever before by acting ‘behind the scenes’ while we shop around online.
How cashback normally works
Earning cashback on your shopping usually requires a decent memory! You have to remember to visit a retailer through the links on a cashback website like Quidco. Your purchases are then tracked, and you earn a percentage of your spend back in the form of cashback.
Making savings through a middle man like this is not an intuitive way of shopping as you have to log on to a new website and shop through their links. It's easy to forget to check the websites in the first place.
When you do remember, the experience can be time consuming, and sometimes unrewarding when the store that you thought offered cashback no longer deals with your cashback website of choice.
Although Frootfal offers this traditional cashback service as well, it's the app that makes the Frootful proposition so different.
How the Frootful app works
The app feature works by sitting in the background on your PC while you browse online shops.
The app only pops up when it has found you a cashback offer that is relevant to what you are looking at, alerting you of what products in that category are available with the best cashback deals.
For example, if you are on the Boots website and there is a chance to earn cashback through Frootfal, the app lets you know and you can continue shopping following the site's link (so your purchase is tracked and you get your pay out).
So the downsides of cashback schemes are bypassed. No more frustrated screams when you finish paying at your favourite retailer, only to realise you forgot to shop via Topcashback.
What are the potential downsides?
Frootfal claims the app produces unbiased results as you shop, but within the same breath the company states the app only runs through its “global network of premier brands” when you are browsing online.
[SPOTLIGHT]Not every shop you use online will give you a pop up, so you may still feel the need to check other cashback websites anyway.
Another downside is that although the service is free, you can only withdraw cash once your balance exceeds £20. Other cashback websites like Quidco and TopCashBack don’t have a threshold, though GreasyPalm and RPoints have a £25 minimum.
The potential for pop-up irritation is also a potential problem, especially if you have no intention of buying and you are just browsing.
What's more, the app is only available for a Windows PC, so cannot be used on MACs or on phones - yet. Frootfal say other online devices are to follow.
The verdict
The proposition sounds helpful but the website is still in its beta testing stage, so there is no user experience to go off to truly tell if Frootfal is any different to other cashback websites or offers better deals.
Also there is a sense that the app does the thinking for you and takes away some of the control that you have to search and compare a few websites for the best cashback deals.
That said, you don’t have to do much in order to test it and the app is free, so it has to be worth giving it a try.
Earning cashback on ALL of your spending
Cashback websites are just one way to earn money back on your spending. There are are also credit cards that offer cashback, wherever you spend your money. Check out The credit cards that reward spending for more.
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