Survey Merchandiser App (survey.com)
Survey Merchandiser App ReviewÂ
The Survey Merchandiser app facilitates on-demand retail jobs paid on a project-to-project basis. The types of gigs offered include simple tasks such as taking photos of products, checking prices, and stocking shelves. The app is only available in the US and is operated by a company called Trax.
Andrew: Andrew is one of our reviewers who’s been with HuginX the longest. With a background in membership support at one of the largest survey companies, Andrew has a lot of inside knowledge of the Market Research industry and has helped us refine our reviewing criteria. When Andrew is not working with reviews, he likes to go hiking with his dog Charlie.
What’s the concept?
From the thousands of online survey websites, it’s quite ironic that the website survey.com does not offer online survey opportunities. Instead, it’s about visiting physical stores and doing small project-based tasks for brands facilitated by survey.com’s parent company Trax. Check our other recommended gigs if you want to earn money by taking online surveys.
This is how it works: This Merchandiser app connects you with paid retail gigs that range from 15-minute product audits to price checks at local retail stores. You get to choose when and where you work, so total flexibility. Once the job is done you get paid through the 3rd party payment platform Openforce.
This is how Trax present its services to clients:
“We equip our entrepreneurial and tech-empowered workforce with the Trax merchandiser mobile app, providing the instructions and measurement required for customer-specific execution. The Trax Flexforce is 100% quality assured in every visit and singularly focused on outcomes, not routines.”
How does the app work?
When it comes to user experience, Survey.com’s Merchandiser app can be a mixed bag. On the one hand, the app is easy to navigate and the project instructions are generally straightforward. On the other hand, the app can be quite glitchy and the process of claiming projects can be frustrating, especially if you encounter technical difficulties.
Additionally, the app often provides vague information about the expected duration of projects, which can be inconvenient for users who need to plan their schedules. Despite these issues, the app does offer a decent selection of projects to work on and the pay is reasonable for the amount of work required.
How do Survey Sites operate?
New to survey sites? Here is a quick guide to 10 key steps they take when inviting participants to market research projects.
Survey Sites explained in 10 steps
1. Client requests survey participants
A client requests survey participants for a market research project.
2. A target-group is selected
Based on the profiling information you have provided, a sub-set of panelists will be eligible and selected to participate.
3. Participants are invited
Panelists with qualifying profiles will be invited to participate, usually through email invitation or push notification on mobile.
4. Screening of participants
Upon clicking the invitation link, you'll go through a set of screening questions before you are fully qualified to participate.
5. Participants take the survey
As a participant you'll answer a number of questions. The survey could be about anything from consumer brands and entertainment to healthcare and business topics.
6. Your answers are checked
After you have answered all the questions diligently, you'll get a confirmation if your submission has been approved. You'll sometimes need to wait for a researcher to have gone through your submission before you get a confirmation.
7. Your reward is allocated
After the survey, you'll also get a confirmation on the incentive you have earned. The rewards vary from site to site, but is often based on virtual points or simply a cash amount for each survey.
8. Meeting the redemption threshold
Most survey sites don't allow you to withdraw your reward straight away, but will require you to earn a minimum amount before withdrawing your hard earned reward.
9. Filling out your payment information
If you opt to receive your reward through PayPal or bank transfer, remember that your name and address must also match your profile on the survey site.
10. Redeeming your reward
Once you meet the redemption threshold you can withdraw your reward, which is usually in the form of PayPal credits, bank-transfer, Amazon-vouchers, or other types of gift-cards.
Merchandiser Ratings
The Merchandiser app has an average rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 on Google Play, based on 5.76K reviews, and an average rating of 4.6 stars out of 5 on the App Store, based on 3.7K reviews. Most users praise the app for being easy to use, offering flexible and varied gigs, and paying fairly and promptly. Some users also mention that the app has improved, with fewer bugs and glitches and more responsive support.
How much can you earn with Merchandiser?
Survey.com usually pay its users from $5 to $20 per project. However, it is important to note that project payment is only received 6 days after the submission of deliverables, assuming that the platform approves the submission. Even after the payment appears in your Merchandiser account balance, you can only withdraw your earnings if they are at least $5 through their payment system called Openforce. It is worth noting that some users have complained about issues with payment processing and delays, so it is important to keep track of your earnings and ensure timely payment.
The earning potential of Survey.com’s Merchandiser app largely depends on the availability of projects, which, unfortunately, you have no control over. The app may be suitable for those in major cities, but earning anything from the platform is unlikely for those in smaller towns or cities.
To continue earning from the platform, it is recommended to only claim projects that you are ready to work on. Failure to complete projects after six hours of claiming them will negatively affect your Reliability Rating. If your rating drops below 2.5, you won’t be able to claim any projects anymore, and you’ll have to wait for Merchandiser to assign you a project to earn. This can be rare, so completing the claimed projects is crucial.
While Survey.com offers a rate of $5 to $20 for each completed project, it may not be worth travelling to and from locations. Thus, the earning potential of this platform may not be significant.
Survey Merchandiser Dashboard showing available gigs
Summary – Pros and Cons
Positives.
- Low payment threshold: You can request a payment as soon as your assignments are approved, which usually takes six days after you complete them. You don’t have to wait for a monthly or biweekly paycheck, and you can cash out whenever you need some money.
- Simple-to-use app: The app is easy to navigate and shows you the available projects in your area, along with the requirements, deadlines, and pay. You can claim or request projects in the app, and follow the instructions that include photos, diagrams, and examples. The app also keeps track of your earnings and lets you request payments.
- Flexibility: You don’t need to commit to anything. It’s 100% up to you to decide on each assignment.
Negatives.
Common complaints include:
Double bookings: Survey Merchandiser will often assign multiple gig workers for the same job, and only approve the job from the first person to complete the assignment. This can be extremely frustrating for users who have spent time completing the project but will receive a cancellation in the middle of their work.
Example of Merchandiser users complaining about double bookings on the App Store
Unfair quality control: A very strict quality control system often leads to rejected reports for minor or arbitrary reasons. For example, some users have reported that their reports were rejected because their photos were slightly blurry, their answers were too short or too long, or they did not follow the exact instructions. Sometimes, the app even rejects reports for reasons that are beyond the user’s control, such as the store being closed, the product being out of stock, or the display being changed. When a report is rejected, the user does not get paid and may even get a negative rating that affects their future opportunities.
Poor user support Survey Merchandiser rarely responds to user complaints or inquiries. Many users have reported that they never received a reply from the app’s support team when they contacted them about their rejected reports, missing payments, technical issues, or other problems. Some users have even reported that their accounts were suspended or deleted without any explanation or warning. The app’s website and social media pages are also full of negative reviews and comments from frustrated and angry users who feel cheated and ignored by the app.
Earning opportunities are limited: Depending on your location, you might not find many projects available in your area, or they might be too far away to be worth your time and gas money. Some projects are also very competitive and get claimed quickly by other merchandisers, so you have to be fast and flexible to get them.
Travel expenses are not covered: You are responsible for your own transportation costs, such as gas, tolls, parking, and public transit fares. These expenses can add up quickly and eat into your profits, especially if you have to travel long distances or to multiple locations for a project.
Top Rated Panels
- Transparent payment system
- Low redemption level
- High incentives compared to regular consumer survey sites
- Good selection of payment options
- Interesting survey opportunities
- High qualification rate
- Simple user interface
- Surveys are not always mobile-friendly
- Complex questions which can take a lot of concentration and time to fill out
- High quality survey experience
- Interesting surveys on trending topics
- You always qualify for surveys (once signed up)
- Well paid survey opportunities
- Tablet and free internet service offered to households without internet access
- Not possible to sign up without a special invitation
- Not too many survey opportunities (2-5 per month)
- Free to join
- Earn referral commissions
- Fair incentive level
- Good survey experience
- Professional MR company
- There is no signup bonus
- The minimum payout threshold is high
- PayPal and bank redemptions can take up to 30 working days to process
- Owned by one of the largest market research companies
- Above average payout per survey
- A low threshold to redeem rewards
- Easy to qualify for surveys
- Low volume of survey opportunities
- Technical glitches using the Pinecone Research app
- No payout threshold
- Gives loyalty credit if you do not qualify for a survey
- Above-average incentive levels
- Limited earning opportunities
- Hard to qualify and low pay for partner surveys
This is how we review gigs
Disclosure: While HuginX is editorially independent, we may earn commissions on sign-up links.
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