Dive Brief:

• The Shipt Summit Seeker Program, the e-commerce company’s newest rewards program for its workers, launched Thursday, aiming to reward its personal shoppers for high-quality service, according to an announcement from the Target-owned company.
• The new perks, which include a gas cashback offer, $50 in grocery credits and wellness perks, were developed based on 7,500 responses from a nationwide survey of its workers that Shipt conducted in March.
• The rewards program comes at a time when e-commerce companies like Instacart and Shipt are working to retain their gig workforce.

Dive Insight:

Shipt says its newest program is meant to reward shoppers based on the quality of service as opposed to quantity of shops.

“Even someone who only shops a few hours a week can take advantage of the program. … it rewards them for high quality service with some of the things shoppers value most,” Shipt Chief Operating Officer Raj Kapoor said in a statement. 

The Shipt Summit Seeker Program is divided into three tiers: Wayfinder, Trailblazer and Summit Star. To qualify for the Wayfinder level, a Shipt personal shopper must have at least a 4.7 rating, have a 90% on-time delivery percentage and have completed 10 orders. Workers particpating in the program get their qualifications evaluated every 60 days.

Shipt highlighted in the announcement how it included worker feedback when designing the program’s perks. 

Shipt’s gas discounts, which 80% of surveyed workers said are the most valuable to them, include up to $1 per gallon cashback for two fill-ups in each 60-day period for workers who are in the Summit Star tier, according to the announcement. After two fill-ups in the 60-day window, shoppers can still access up to 25 cents per gallon cashback as a user of Upside, a retail technology company. 

Shipt shoppers in the Summit Star tier will receive a $50 credit in their Shipt member account that can be used on purchases at the retailer of their choice — another feature that stemmed from the survey feedback, the press release said. 

Through a new partnership with Avibra, Shipt is giving eligible shoppers new wellness perks, including injury protection insurance, $1,000 in life insurance, debt and credit counseling, a prescription savings program and access to a 24/7 well-being advisor, according to the announcement.

Shipt’s newest rewards program comes less than a month after competitor Instacart updated its own worker rewards program, which initially debuted last summer and rewards workers who have completed a high number of order trips. Instacart's Cart Star rewards program incentivizes workers to complete more orders, awarding them with 10 points per customer order and 20 points or more when they shop a multi-order batch. 

Among the recent changes to its program, Instacart debuted “Platinum Protection” in June, ensuring that shoppers who have finished at least 4,000 orders never drop below Platinum Cart status.