National Consumer Panel
Product Name: National Consumer Panel
Product Description: National Consumer Panel pays users for completing surveys and information about their shopping habits.
Summary
National Consumer Panel requires users to meet a selective set of criteria to join, but they pay more than many of their competitors for surveys and consumer behavior information. You can earn points for gift cards by answering surveys, scanning purchases and giving details about your shopping experience, and product testing.
Overall
Pros
Multiple ways to earn points, including shopping, taking surveys, and participating in games
NCP has been operating for 27 years, making it one of the more stable platforms
You can earn reward points on purchases made by other members of your household
Cons
May receive infrequent survey invitations
Must apply for membership
May have your account deactivated as population trends change
Only 1 person per household can join
Anyone who wants to earn gift cards by shopping and completing surveys should consider National Consumer Panel. The platform can be a decent option for enthusiastic shoppers and survey takers looking to boost their side hustle income too.
At a Glance:
- Earn points for shopping and answering questionnaires, as well as taking surveys and playing games.
- Shop scanning barcodes from your mobile device.
- Rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards.
- There is no cost to join or remain in the program.
What is National Consumer Panel?
National Consumer Panel is part of a joint venture between the ubiquitous Nielsen IQ market research company and Circana. It partners with retailers and brands to offer the ability to earn points for shopping and completing short online surveys to evaluate consumer opinions and potentially test new products.
Unlike other platforms, National Consumer Panel is an exclusive platform and panelists must meet specific demographics to qualify. Therefore, you may need to join a waitlist if there are no current openings.
Who Can Join National Consumer Panel?
The basic qualifications to join National Consumer Panel are similar to other survey sites. One difference is that minors cannot become panelists.
Here are the minimum qualifications:
- At least 18 years old
- Only one person per household can be a member
- You nor anyone in your household work for a consumer package goods company, marketing researcher, or in the advertising industry
The platform is available in the United States and Canada.
National Consumer Panel Application Process
Unlike other sites where membership is essentially a guarantee, National Consumer Panel doesn’t accept every application. The platform only accepts a limited number of panelists from each demographic background to help maintain the high payouts.
Thankfully, the application process is relatively effortless and takes less than two minutes.
You can find out immediately if there’s a spot for you after providing these basic details:
- Name as well as the names of other members of your household
- Address
- Phone number
- Email address
- Birthdate
- Highest education level
- Race or ethnicity
- Income
If you don’t qualify right now, National Consumer Panel states they will keep your application on file for a few weeks if an opening appears. Otherwise, you will need to periodically re-apply.
When you qualify to be a panelist, you can complete your membership profile and begin shopping and receiving paid surveys. Also, congratulations, as you belong to one of the most exclusive and highest-paying shopping and survey sites.
Can You Get Kicked Off National Consumer Panel?
As qualifying to take National Consumer Panel surveys is like finding a “golden ticket,” you will want to abide by the membership agreement to avoid losing your membership.
The platform can cancel your membership for several reasons, including:
- Another person from your immediate household becomes a member
- You share confidential information about products
- Your account is inactive for at least 12 months
- The platform needs fewer panelists
You will have the opportunity to provide input on unreleased products and services. National Consumer Panel requires that influencers do not share details or images about the product concept.
For example, you won’t share your experience with the product on social media unless you have permission. This essence of confidentiality is one reason these surveys pay more.
Another potential downside is that you may not have a lifetime membership. The platform periodically adjusts its membership base (i.e., panel composition maintenance) as population trends change. As a result, you may receive fewer survey invitations if the platform doesn’t need input from your demographic background, and the service may deactivate your account.
How to Earn Gift Cards on National Consumer Panel
There are two primary ways to earn gift cards as a National Consumer Panel member.
Shopping
Since National Consumer Panel is all about consumer behavior and preferences, you can earn gift cards through the mobile app when you shop. That includes shopping for basic items, like a wide variety of groceries, apparel, gasoline, and much more. In the process, NCP seeks to obtain detailed information identifying who buys, what they buy, and where they shop.
You can earn points when shopping, which can be redeemed for gift cards. The process begins by using your NCP mobile app to scan barcodes on purchased items. If the items don’t have barcodes, the app provides a list of items, or you can manually input information and prices.
One advantage of the NCP scanning system is that it does not need to be done at the point of sale. You can scan barcodes or enter information after leaving the store or outlet. The system also provides a long list of participating merchants to help you automatically identify where items are purchased. It includes most major retailers across the country.
Though National Consumer Panel limits participation to one person per household, you can scan purchases made by other members of your family to earn more points.
Online Surveys
This includes surveys of recently purchased products. For example, you’ll be asked to indicate how you made your purchase (credit card, debit card, etc.), how you will use the product, how often you purchase that product, as well as how frequently you shop at each particular retailer.
It’s worth seeing if you qualify for National Consumer Panel to earn gift cards for the same effort.
Product Testing
Manufacturers may also mail you products to test at home and leave a review. Depending on the study, you may be able to keep the item. In other instances, you may have to send the product back.
These opportunities can be less common than online surveys. You might be able to earn more if these tests require more time than the standard 20-minute survey.
Household Questions
Panelists will periodically answer short household questions. This activity doesn’t earn award points but helps the platform match you with relevant surveys and product tests.
How Does National Consumer Panel Pay?
NCP uses an admittedly complicated redemption program. You have to earn at least 6,000 points to receive a $10 gift card. That’s complicated by the fact that there’s a limit on how many points you can earn based on how long you participate in the program. For example, in your first year, you can earn between 150 and 200 points per weekly transmission. With more than six years, you can earn over 300 points each.
When first starting out, you’ll be limited to 150 points per transmission. That means you would need to scan and complete a questionnaire on at least 40 purchases to earn enough points to qualify for a $10 gift card.
However, NCP also offers its Pick N’ Win Sweepstakes and weekly reward point bonuses (with exclusive games on the mobile app). Participating in those activities can provide even greater rewards.
Here are your payment options.
Gift Cards
Another popular option is retail and restaurant gift cards. You can earn Amazon gift cards, among other favorite brands.
Merchandise
A final redemption option is physical merchandise. Pricier items can require a higher minimum redemption.
Do National Consumer Panel Points Expire?
Your National Consumer Panel points won’t expire unless your account becomes inactive. You must complete a survey at least once every 12 months to keep your account active.
As there isn’t a redemption minimum, requesting small yet frequent redemptions can be the best option to ensure you don’t lose any rewards because of inactivity or account deactivations.
Does National Consumer Panel Have a Mobile App?
Yes, there’s a National Consumer Panel mobile app for Android and iOS devices. Influencers can use the app to shop, take surveys, redeem points, and update their user profiles.
National Consumer Panel Alternatives
You might consider these alternatives if you’re on NPC’s waitlist or want to take more paid surveys.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks offers a variety of ways to earn points, and the minimum redemption threshold starts at $1.
Some of the ways you can earn reward points include:
- Surveys
- Online shopping
- Signing up for product offers (free and paid)
- Playing games
- Watching videos
You can redeem points for $1 Amazon gift cards (140 points). PayPal and other gift card rewards for other brands start at $3 (300 points).
Read our Swagbucks review to learn more.
Fetch Rewards
Fetch Rewards is a popular rewards app where you can earn gift cards for shopping at over 600 popular brands. Similar to NCP, you simply need to shop, take photos of each receipt, and then redeem points for gift cards. You can even refer friends to earn additional points.
Fetch Rewards also gives you the ability to earn gift cards by playing games.
There is a limit of no more than 35 receipts on a seven-day rolling period, and certain purchases are also limited. These include utility and medical bills, movie and concert tickets, and airline ticket purchases. Receipts can be scanned up to 14 days after checkout and still be eligible for points.
Read our full Fetch Rewards review to learn more.
Rakuten
Rakuten is one of the top shopping apps when it comes to earning extra cash. You can earn extra cash shopping just about everywhere, including grocery stores, big-box retailers, and more. Rakuten enables you to earn cash back on purchases. Exactly how much you’ll earn depends on the retailer.
For example, you can earn up to 2% cash back at Walmart, up to 8% at Sam’s Club, and up to 1.5% at Safeway.
The app can also be used in restaurants, at travel providers, and at merchants selling clothing, accessories, and electronics. The company claims typical users earned more than $90 in cash back in 2023. You can choose to receive your cashback through either PayPal or by a check sent to your home.
Read our full Rakuten review to learn more.
FAQ
Yes. National Consumer Panel has the highest rating from the Better Business Bureau, at A+. It also has a rating of 4.3 out of five stars among 7,600 iOS users on The App Store, and 4.5 out of five stars among 47,500 Android users on Google play.
You use the mobile app to scan barcodes (or enter product information if there is no barcode), then complete a questionnaire about the products, the merchant, and your shopping experience. You can also complete surveys and play games to earn additional points.
Points can be earned from the activities listed above, and then redeemed for gift cards to popular merchants.
Generally speaking, you’ll need to scan and evaluate 40 purchases to earn a $10 gift card. However, there are opportunities to earn additional rewards through Pick N’ Win Sweepstakes and weekly reward point bonuses.
National Consumer Panel is worth applying for due to the multiple options you’ll have to earn rewards. This service can be an excellent option for anyone who likes shopping and reporting on those purchases or taking consumer opinion surveys.
If you must join a waiting list, you will only lose a few minutes to see whether you qualify.
Summary
Though there is no cost to sign up for the program or ongoing maintenance fees, you won’t make a fortune with this app. It’s essentially a program that enables you to gift cards by doing what you ordinarily do, which is shop. If you’re comfortable scanning your purchases and completing a brief questionnaire about each purchase, this can be an easy way to earn gift cards.
