Earning Rewards and Cash Back While Shopping Online

Who doesn’t like a bargain? Or getting payback for spending you planned to do anyway? Enter rewards and cash back for shopping online.

Online shopping has been experiencing strong growth over the last few years. According to a report by Morgan Stanley, global e-commerce comprises an estimated 22% of total retail sales, and could be on track to grow from $3.3 trillion today to an estimated $5.4 trillion in 2026.¹

At the same time, people have been changing the way they shop online, actively seeking out rewards and cash back from a growing array of mobile and web-based options. Among these are online shopping portals, cash back apps, and digital loyalty programs, and rewards and cash back offers linked to credit cards. Many work in stores as well as online.

Here are some of the current trends in rewards and cash back for shopping online.

Online shopping portals aggregate access to a variety of retailers and offer rewards when you do your shopping through the portal. To use an online shopping portal, you sign up as a member, usually at no charge. Then you receive a percentage of the money you spend as cash back, often at a later date, when clicking through to retailers from the site or its mobile app.

Just how much you get depends on the product you buy, the portal you use, the day you’re shopping, and other factors. But it does add up: One of the largest online shopping portals reports more than 12 million U.S. members, who it claims have earned over $1 billion in cash back from 3,500 stores. The portal shares the commissions it receives from retailers, and distributes members’ payments quarterly.^2,3

Some of these cash back sites and apps require more of shoppers’ time and attention than others. To minimize your “overhead” effort, some apps offer extensions to your web browser that automatically alert you of cash back opportunities when you’re shopping at the site of a favorite store.

There are an increasing number of variations on the online shopping rewards theme, with some rewarding you for participating in market research surveys, or as you submit receipts, watch videos, and scan barcodes in-store. Among online e-commerce portals, participating stores and brands can vary from one service to another, and also change over time. In place of cash, shoppers might also accumulate rewards points, potentially accumulating enough to qualify for store discounts or gift cards to leading brands. 

Some airlines have their own portals that let you shop at hundreds of stores to earn miles – and get additional miles for using their branded airline credit card when you buy. Companies in the business of supplying coupons and promo codes for online discounts have also expanded into cash back and other rewards. With other portals, you can opt to give rewards to charity when you shop, instead of harvesting the rewards for yourself.

With so many options, there are even online “monitors” that continually update available rewards for various stores from a range of portals, apps, and credit cards.

Online shopping portals aren’t the only way to go for earning cash back, points, gift cards, and other rewards. Credit cards have long offered such rewards. Some credit cards offer rewards points or cash back for spending in certain categories, such as groceries or online retail purchases, while others offer rewards across the board. Some shoppers combine points from rewards credit cards while spending on cash back portals to increase their savings.  

Meanwhile, loyalty programs have evolved over the past 20 years, from the old paper punch card approach – like buy 10 to get one free – to plastic membership card to key fob to smartphone apps. Now, many retailers offer rewards programs, including loyalty points, that reward customers for their purchases.