National Consumer Panel Review: Is NCP Legit?

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If you’re looking for how to earn from shopping from your favorite stores, you are in the right place. This National Consumer Panel review will take an in-depth look into how National Consumer Panel works. It will also consider if the platform is legit or not.

Some weeks ago, I wrote an iBotta review that revealed a way to make money from grocery shopping via your smartphone. Unfortunately, many people do not have good phones that can be used for the tasks discussed in the review. In this article, I will provide an alternative that you can use to make money online. We will consider the National Consumer Panel review to determine if the platform is worth your time.

The National Consumer Panel (NCP) is a website that is backed by Nielsen and IRi. It was formally known as Nielsen Homescan before its name was changed in 2008. Since 1987, the company has been making use of its members’ opinions to help manufacturers make the right decisions on the kinds of products to sell.

The website allows members to earn from completing simple and fun tasks. The tasks involve scanning barcodes of the items they purchase every week. This is a great opportunity for you to improve your shopping experience and change the face of your favorite brands.

Quick Review

Here is my quick national consumer panel review:

PlatformNational Consumer Panel
Payment MethodsAmazon gift cards, prepaid debit or credit cards, iTunes gift cards, merchandise, retail e-vouchers
ActivitiesBarcode scanning, online surveys, mobile app, product testing, mobile surveys
PriceFree
How to redeem rewardsYou need to earn at least 8,000 points to redeem your rewards
AlternativePanel Champ

Detailed Review

What is National Consumer Panel?

National Consumer Panel (NCP) is a market research company that pays its members for scanning their groceries. NCP emanates from the partnership between Nielsen and IRi. According to BBB, NCP has been operating since 1923.

How Can You Join National Consumer Panel?

The main issue with National Consumer Panel is that their membership is closed, and they will not allow you to have a member account if your household demographics do not align with what they want.

However, this shouldn’t stop you from trying. When you go to their website, you will answer some questions and provide information (such as age, sex, and job) that will enable them to know if your profile meets their requirements.

If you’re lucky to meet their needs, you will receive an email that will invite you to register for a member account.

Also, if your family qualifies for a scanner device, NCP will mail the device to the address you provided while registering on the website. If not, you can use an NCP Mobile app on your smartphone. This app works just like the scanner device. The app and mobile app will be used to scan the barcodes of the groceries you buy.

The process is free. Thus, you will not lose anything if you do not meet their criteria.

Features of National Consumer Panel

National Consumer Panel has two major features that you can use to make money. They include:

1. App

The app allows you to earn by scanning the barcodes of the items you bought and your receipts. You can scan receipts from any store provided the name of the store is on the receipt. You can download the app from Apple Store and Google Play Store.

2. Survey

You can also earn points on National Consumer Panel by taking surveys. After purchasing something, you stand a chance of receiving a survey about the item.

How To Earn on National Consumer Panel

1. Scan after shopping

The main service National Consumer Panel offers is to gather data about consumers’ shopping habits. They achieve this by allowing members to scan the things they buy when shopping.

You can scan the items you buy by making use of either a scanner or your mobile phone. Judging from the reviews I read from members of the platform, the scanner often poses technical issues.

Also, you are responsible for the device. So if you cease to be their member, you need to return it to the company.

I prefer the app since I can easily download it on my mobile phone. I can also start using it as soon as I have it on my phone and I don’t need to bother about returning anything if I cease being a member of the platform.

Irrespective of the scanning method you choose, all that is required of you is to scan the barcodes on the items you buy while shopping. You must also provide information about items without barcodes (for instance, baked goods, fruits, vegetables, and lots more).

Also, you should provide information about the store you went to, if you shopped online, and other general information.

You will send these data once every week to NCP. The company will then use the data for market research.

These data are important to manufacturers and retailers in improving their products and services. That is why they reward you for scanning the barcodes of the items you buy.

This is the main way to use NCP as a member. If you fail to scan items for some time, they will contact you to know if you are still interested in being a member.

Thus, you should not be inactive for too long so that they won’t deactivate your account.

2. Surveys and special studies

As a member of NCP, you can also earn points by participating in surveys. The panel uses this to gather more data and ask you questions about your shopping styles. It is also a way for you to share your feedback about your shopping experience in certain stores.

However, you should not expect to earn big when taking surveys on National Consumer Panel. I advise you to participate in the surveys if you want your feedback to be heard.

In some cases, you may be invited to participate in and earn extra points from special studies.

3. Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes is a great option to earn from National Consumer Panel. This option allows you to earn high rewards. When you are active on the website, you will have the opportunity to partake in sweepstakes. The sweepstakes are held weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually.

You can win big prizes from the sweepstakes if you are lucky. You can also win other great prizes from this option.

The biggest reward that you can earn from sweepstakes occurs quarterly; during this period, you stand a chance of winning $20,000.

The other rewards in this option are between $25 and $500. You can also win products. So, this option is a great earning opportunity. However, you have to be lucky to win any of these prizes.

4. Membership bonuses

As a member of the National Consumer Panel, you can have access to some special discounts from the partners of the panel.

For instance, you can enjoy discounts for AT&T Wireless Plans and Accessories.

This should not be your main reason for joining the panel. However, you can use this option to save money.

Who Can Register on National Consumer Panel?

National Consumer Panel does not allow just anyone to register. First of all, you must be a resident in the United States to be considered. If you do not live in the United States, then you can check out other alternatives that are available in more countries.

Even if you are a US resident, your membership request is not guaranteed to be approved. Whether your request will be accepted or not depends on your demographic data (i.e. your residential address, the number of people in your household, and lots more).

National Consumer Panel Rewards

National Consumer Panel has a gift catalog that you can select gifts from. However, note that you cannot be paid in cash.

Judging from the number of gifts you can choose from the catalog, the rewards are as good as earning cash. However, if you want to participate in surveys that pay in cash, check other reviews on this website for platforms that payout with PayPal.

To get a reward from their gift catalog, you need to earn about 8,000 points. You can also collect more points and save for better rewards.

Pros

  • It is free to join National Consumer Panel.
  • The platform gives you a unique way to give your opinions about the items you buy.
  • The sweepstakes offer a great way to earn huge rewards.

Cons

  • The rewards are fairly low when compared to the time spent in completing the tasks.
  • NCP does not pay out in cash.
  • It takes time to be accepted as a member.

FAQs

Is National Consumer Panel legit or a scam?

National Consumer Panel is legit. The company pays but the main issue with the platform is that the rewards are small, and it can take a long period for you to reach the minimum threshold. If you are patient, you can join the platform.

How can I earn points on NCP?

To understand how to make money on NCP, let us take a look at how the platform’s point system works.

Scanning each receipt pays you 50 points. You can earn at most 500 points per week. This implies that you need to submit ten receipts every week to reach the maximum amount.

The minimum threshold on NCP is 5000 points (which is worth $5). If you decide to wait to withdraw bigger amounts, you can make more money per point. These savings emanate from saving your points for the $25 reward than the $5 reward.

Here is a breakdown of NCP’s rewards:

  • $5 for 5,000 points is $0.05 per receipt
  • $10 for 9,000 points is $0.0556 per receipt
  • $25 for 21,000 points is $0.0595 per receipt
  • $50 for 41,000 points is $0.061 per receipt

As you can see from the lists above, you can make more money by saving your points. The disadvantage of this is that it takes a long time to earn these points.

How do I get paid on National Consumer Panel?

Now that you know what it entails to be a member of NCP and how you can make money from the platform, it is important to know how you can have access to your earnings.

The truth is that it is complicated.

You will earn points every week that you participate. Some members of the platform reported that they earn about 20 to 50 points per item they scan. Others said they earned 150 points every week when they first started.

The points you earn depend on how long you’ve been a member of the platform. You will also earn a bonus on your birthday and when you have been on the platform for 3, 6, and 12 months. Also, you will earn bonuses during each yearly anniversary.

You can then use these points to choose gifts from the NCP gift catalog. This catalog has lots of gifts that you can choose from.

Conclusion

National Consumer Panel Review Final Verdict: Is National Consumer Panel Worth It?

Thank you for taking the time to read my National Consumer Panel review. By now, you must have learned how to earn from the platform. I believe I’ve also been able to convince you that the website is legit.

But is it worth your time?

Judging from all the points discussed in this National Consumer Panel review, the platform may not be the best survey site out there (despite being legit) if you are looking for quick money.

That does not mean the site cannot be trusted. It is just that it takes a long time for you to reach the minimum payout.

However, if you are patient and you intend to use it with other platforms, then you may give it a try. National Consumer Panel offers you many rewards which you can earn from their sweepstakes.

Finally, I hope this National Consumer Panel has given you all the details that you need to decide if the platform is worth your time.