NCPMobile: Shopping Rewards Reviews

by Amyyy3

I do a lot of surveys and things like that to make a little extra money here and there. This hasn’t worked for me. I wasn’t able to gain enough points to get a reward since I was having a lot of trouble since my c-score/reward point did not (and still don’t) accurately reflect what I have scanned/ purchased.
I have an iPhone 11. I’m not sure if it’s my phone, but NCP looks very low tech. It doesn’t fit the screen. It makes me feel like this might just be a scam to get people’s information.
It might of a software issue. I had to contact customer service (yesterday Aug 19) because my purchases/scans weren’t showing up getting counted. My account on my app said one thing, my account on the website said another when it came to my last scan/purchase, but my reward points didn’t change from the first time. After I contacted them, the only ones that showed up were from last week (I’m guessing because I can’t see a history of all my scans/purchases to be able to determine which ones got counted). None of my scans from this week got counted (they say it takes up to 48 hours but it’s already Friday, not sure what happened to my scans from earlier this week).
Maybe it works for other people? It’s just a lot of work for it not to work. I recommend you save your time and energy and try other options as this one is very finicky.

by Dragonlance3

I’m glad I waited to review NCP. I actually enjoyed scanning even having previously read reviews about the annoying beep if you aren’t fast enough. But after this last update, things have gotten worse. NCP now doesn’t seem to focus well except on my feet, and in trying to get the barcodes in focus, I get beep after beep and scanning starts to become frustrating now instead of enjoyable. On top of that, continue is down at the bottom so where you didn’t have to scroll all the way down before, now you do which takes more time. AND you have to hit continue after each item which takes even MORE time! Meanwhile my ice cream is melting because I like to have everything in order while I scan so i don get “beeped” at! Please go back to the way it was before and test these so called improvements before implementing them!!

by Shellybelly9181

I have only began using NCP but I find logging into website better, easier, and more informative. Adding items and shopping trips, and adding shoppers, is super easy…BUT that’s all NCP seems to do. I have deleted and reloaded it because I keep being told in messages I can win points by using the spin to win option, which would be great IF I HAD IT. NCP is super basic and surprisingly not modern or up to date at all. I’m shocked at the lack of modernism and lack of technology with such high powered, well known companies backing this company and panel. So far, the gifts and incentives are also not impressive. I seem to have better options and a better catalog on less well known survey apps I use. Nielsen and partners need to get with the times. As if they can’t afford it.

by MrsHappyJW

Got NCP a couple months ago & I find it a hassle to enter every single item AND write in all the details. If it has a scanner (which BTW doesn’t work all that well) why do I also have to add names, prices, descriptions (because they don’t have auto fill for most of the stores I go to.) plus all the extras about coupons & what kind of coupons, etc. It’s tiring & I end up skipping half my shopping trips submissions because I dread all the work.
I also can’t find some items listed in the “no barcode” list. & So far, the rewards aren’t worth it. If there were quicker, better rewards or an easier way of uploading receipts, I’d use NCP more often. Not sure if I’m going to stick with this or not... we’ll see.

by LuckieOne77

I been using this application for numerous months before the outbreak happened. The process is a bit of a pain and can get over bearing when you have a large shopping trip. Also, not sure but I think you lose ranking if you do not shop all the time which I do not any more due to the outbreak issue. So, if you do not report something at least once a week you may lose your ranking status. I think that is rather petty being that people are staying home more now due to what’s is happening in the country. The survey can be long winded and uninteresting which some time 150 points are not worth the trouble to do them. Overall, this application could be so much easier to use with a lot of upgrading, for example certain store accounts linked like Walmart or Target. Even better, how about being able to link your payment card to the application so when used the application will automatically register a purchase. I like the fact that the application screwed up and I had to delete it for reinstall. When I did all my favorite stores were deleted as well as other information when I logged back into the application...

by Impulse24

I’ve been a member before and used the handheld scanner which was a bit of a pain so I stopped being a member. When I saw NCP I figured I’d give being a member a try again. I like that you don’t need the standalone barcode wand anymore but like others have said the barcode reader in NCP is terrible. Almost every item I scan has a problem being picked up. I know it’s not my device because I use various other rebate and coupon apps and they work perfectly. Other rebate/coupon apps even read all the items directly from the store receipt without the need to scan everything. I’ll stick with NCP a little longer in hopes they update at least the scanner. But not too long as it’s discouraging spending so much time trying to log a store trip

by Bubeez1

I’ve been using NCP for a few months (why I didn’t get it before I don’t know). Everything about NCP is great except for 2 things. #1) If you’re a member with a continuous survey Diary (like prescription Rx) you can’t access it to report your purchase(s)with NCP . You have to go to the this app website in order to report. #2) When scanning non barcode items, such as meat from a butcher, it doesn’t allow you to give the quantity of an item purchased. Once a month (during their special sale) we go to a our butcher and purchase 8-10 oz filet mignon steaks for $5.99. We always buy 20 steaks each month. When using NCP for scanning we have to input each steak pack ten times instead of putting in 10 for quantity purchased! With the old scanner you could input quantity but unfortunately not with NCP . Grrrrr! Otherwise it’s great!

by Ms.Slomo

I’ve been using this app for awhile now and I use to have the handheld thingy which was pretty spot on and accurate when it came to scanning items. But with NCP the barcode scanner is super spotty. Sometimes it picks up the barcode, but a lot of times it does not. NCP overall is great and convenient versus having to use the handheld at home and making sure its plugged into a phone line. I love the convenience of NCP but wish they would fix the scanner portion (which is the main point of NCP ) because it rarely focuses, stays blurry no matter how many times I try to use the focus function and when it does it says the barcode cannot be read. Typing it in manually I haven’t experienced any issues except for like one user said when the barcode is short it won’t register either way you try to input it. With the handheld it was no problem hands down. Overall “good” app, easy to use and navigate and easy to understand. Just need to fix the mobile scanner portion.

by Dmconvert

I've been scanning for over 15 weeks and, so far, NCP has been great. However, I do have a few ideas to improve the user experience.

First of all, I really think that NCP should allow users to type in the names of the stores they use. The number of categories available does not always reflect the various types of stores available for a shopping trip.

Next, when entering products that don't have a barcode (i.e. prepared foods, produce, cheeses, etc.), there is no option to report multiple items per entry. For example, I purchased two cucumbers from the grocery store and I had to enter this purchase twice. Imagine if I had bought seven cucumbers; I would have to do this seven times over.

I also would like to see the ability to scan the receipt and to input prices that way, while correlating each item on the receipt with a scan of the UPC tag (or an associated manual entry).

In addition, with this Coronavirus pandemic, I think there should be a null option in the drop-down menu on NCP (i.e. "No Purchases This Week"). Entering the barcode provided by this app is very difficult because NCP still asks for a price, a quantity, associated coupons, etc. For those who use a hand-held scanner (not a mobile device), this option is already available, so app users should have parity.

Addressing these concerns would make the user experience so much better in my opinion, and would make it a lot less tedious to use NCP .

by Gonzopolis

In general, NCP is easy to use, and for a few stores even apparently knows prices. The one issue I’ve found is that it’s difficult to edit the “who was present on this trip?” list. I’ve found no easy way to reorder the list so my name is at the top except by adding “Aa” to the beginning of my name, and I’ve not found a way to delete a name (I had dinner once with a friend I may not see again for years, so there’s no point in cluttering the list with a name I may never use again). I’d also suggest changing “Prior to getting home” to “Away from home,” since I’ve purchased items to be used while traveling but after I’ve gone home with them (to pack them, for example) - I always tag those items as “Prior to getting home.”

by Sarcasim

I am currently moving so I switched to the mobile app. At first I thought it was going to be great, I can scan everything while I was putting it in the car before getting home or just as I took everything out since I always have my phone on me. However, it does not read all of the barcodes. There are some barcodes that are short and for some reason it will not acknowledge it. If you try to enter it manually it still doesn't recognize it. So this is very frustrating, something I did not have to go through with the handheld. At times it'll tell me it cannot transmit because I'm not using Wi-Fi, this is confusing since I have it to use the cellular data if I'm not anywhere near Wi-Fi.

by Le Mew

NCP is so much easier and faster to use than the handheld scanner. There are a few kinks to work out, of course, it is a new app. There are not enough categories for non-barcode items, a problem with both NCP and handheld, and NCP does not read every barcode. I am, however, more likely to record prepared food/take out purchases and gas purchases on my phone. Plus doing the surveys is much easier, since I am rarely sitting in front of my desktop computer. The only rewards one can claim on NCP are gift cards, you cannot browse the product catalog. That's a bummer. So far I have not had any real technical issues; NCP has not crashed or acted up at all.

by Urban Economist

I have been a member for about 20 years and most of those years was I was using a scanner that had to sit on a charging cradle. This scanner was much harder to use and sometimes awkward.

When they first created the Phone app it had a lot of bugs in it and many times it would stop working in the middle of a large scanning purchase losing all my input and having to start from scratch. However they seem to have worked out those kinks and it works so much better now. Using NCP is easy and quick. Thanks for creating a great app.

by Jamesh2oman

Earn points for recording shopping trips, and taking brief surveys. Use those points to buy items from the gift guide, or enter in sweepstakes. Plus thousands of opportunities to win literally Thousands of dollars. All this to help other consumers and companies understand what does and doesn’t work and what does and doesn’t matter to consumers when purchasing items. See and hear little phrases in commercials such as “number one in sales, or America’s favorite, etc”? Look at the fine print and you’ll see measured by sales data via Neilson corp, or something along those lines. That’s “you” if you sign up and participate. I’ve been a member for over 10 years and have enjoyed all that’s involved, especially the gifts, gift cards, and cold hard cash. Just replaced my phone and was asked to review NCP when I installed it on my new phone. Figured after 10+ years of being a member I would be able to confidently place a well educated review lol. Look into it, been a neat and positive experience.

by Headphones Were Always On

Compared to the old dial up modem phone which worked maybe 40% of the time with out having to redial over and over again this is terrific no more scanning of the books with multiple codes for meats produce etc it gives you much more incentive to actually scan and keep track because it takes up 20% of the time it used to take to do the same function it's intuitive it picks up the barcodes very easily being that it's on your phone you always have it handy to scan wherever and whenever you need to do it it's made scanning keeping track of everything so much easier

by Srj424242

I have been scanning my purchases for several years now, and love the mobile app! If shopping at a major retailer (in person), I scan my items as I put them into my cart, then only have to add the total amount spent at the end of my trip, which saves me from having to scan when I get home. Using NCP also really helps me to understand where my shopping dollars are going. Nice way to feel that I am helping others recognize where and how often I shop, and I use the rewards for gifts, which is another nice perk. I am very thankful to be on the panel!

by Carnesthree

I am new to this type of consumer poling. I have attempted many survey type apps, but NCP is legitimate with what your attempting to accomplish. I have a disabled child and when he’s at school my down time is limited. This gives me the ability to feel like I’m helping give accurate facts about the items I purchase. NCP is easy to use. It’s not bogged down with advertisements. That’s a game changer for me. I normally don’t comment but this is well worth my time. I noticed someone write about the focus on the barcode. When I tapped my scream to refocus I noticed that I was unable to hold my phone completely still. So I used a tripod to stable my phone and I held the product in front of my phone. It picked up the first attempt. Just helpful info. Enjoy.

by Kwajkid67

The idea for NCP is very good! It tells the people who stock the groc stores what people are buying in the stores and so much other information. I love this idea, but then there are the days that my scanner (iPhone) doesn’t want to work and it always seems to be the days when I stock up. It won’t scan correctly! So I have to put them in manually! If you shop at some stores that automatically put price in too, that’s great, but if you don’t, that means putting that in manually. That takes twice as long. I keep hoping they will find a type of ink or something that will pick up better.
Update review
Have been having a lot of trouble w/app not scanning not picking up details of shopping trips, so uninstalled & re-installed this app app so far am impressed w/it. I have added 1 shopping trip & I’m happy, they’ve worked hard on this. THANK YOU, this app!!

by Annies007

Been a member for a few months now, and I find it to be a Very Simple, Easy to Use App!!! Sometimes I do forget to Scan my purchases, only because it is new to me! You can't ask for anything more Simpler! I also like the Spinner, which you can get a percentage in points for the following week, which is another good thing. Hey, who doesn't like to earn more points! Also, there are Surveys you can take to earn points or earn towards a Monthly Giveaway! So I really do enjoy using NCP! The more you scan your purchases the more points you will earn towards your choice of Rewards. Oh, and what I also like about NCP is if the item does not have a Barcode you can still record your purchases!! Or if a certain store is not on the list there are other categories to look under to record purchase. If you haven't tried NCP yet, give it a try, you won't regret it!!!

by Jweaver1982

I absolutely love this app. I was a member back when they would ship you the scanner that connected to your computer via the old pin cable connection. This was also how you updated your scanner. Having the NCPMobile app is so much easier. The only downside I am having is there is no way to scan receipts instead of individual items which takes forever if your a big shopper. For instance when my family goes to the grocery store we always end up with 2 full shopping carts 🛒. Well you can imagine how long it takes to scan 2 shopping carts full of items. You use to be able to scan receipts 🧾 instead of individual items; making it that much quicker and way more user friendly. But out of all the reward apps; I can hands down confirm this app delivers on their end. I have earned gift cards, a 1 cup coffee maker, a portable speaker for your phone, as well as gift cards.

by KittyT

This isn't as much of an upgrade as I hoped. It's faster compared to the scanner, provided the light hits it just right. It's not easy to zoom in while holding my tablet and the item. Plus I can't save trips as I used to on the scanner so that I can transmit when needed vs immediately. Still waiting for shop & stop to be added to my list of stores. Why it was removed when I moved I'll never know. Wish I wasn't limited on how many favorites which is definitely an upgrade. It is definitely easier to input coupons and deals this time around. I'll be happy when the things that were taken away come back so that it can be a better and worth it upgrade.

by Whatevers Availble

I was “invited” back to start recording my shopping with them saying that they upload info from your receipts..... basically just a camera but it’s a pain. It doesn’t like any light source except direct sunlight apparently. Don’t fold your receipt no matter how long it is. And be prepared for some little thing it does where it takes a lower part of the receipt and wants you to “match up” that part and will repeat this having you aim the camera lower and lower..... three of the pictures are of my pant leg cause I was taking the pic in my car sitting down. They’ll probably reject the scan in a little bit. It sounds nice..... but after one time I think I’d rather just scan items individually again....

by Eric6833

It does a great job. I love the idea that you could make a favorites list of your grocery stores. Makes it much easier by far. The only problem I have is that when I scanned 15 of 16 items it may take me back to the main screen and not save it and I've contacted by email through this program to this app online, and never no response on how to fix that issue and I sent an email through my computer still no issue but when I call for support I am told I am number 18 one day and the next day I am 17, always over 17 which is about an hour to two hour wait with all these people ahead of me. So after a week I gave up calling.
So since nobody called me in 10 days and I had six grocery stores to scan I went online and use the regular scanner because nobody called me I didn't know what to do.

by Laura Buck

Love NCP but my only issue is EVERYTIME I sign in to the website to make sure I’ve received the correct bonus points for a survey, especially one where it’s more than the 150 points, I go online to double check the points and it will not allow me to log on. It tells me “Invalid Login credentials”. I’ve tried with my email and user ID #. Last time (only 1 month ago) I tried logging on for the first time in about 6 months and had the same issue. I changed my password, emailed it to myself to be sure I had the correct one and now again I’m having the same issue!! Please fix your website login!!!! I know I have the correct user name because it’s my email & password!!!!