Sometrics Launches ‘Shop & Earn’ Program

Today the virtual economy analytics firm Sometrics announced that it was adding a new feature to its platform called the Shop & Earn Shopping Feed. Similar to the also recently announced Offerpal Shopping program, Sometrics'd Shop & Earn Shopping Feed lets users earn virtual currency in a client developer's game by buying physical goods from affiliate online retailers. Sometrics announced that the Feed will contain "hundreds" of participating brand-name retailers.

"This is a no-brainer for publishers who want to give their players an easy, safe and secure way to earn virtual currency and deepen their participation in and loyalty to their favorite games,” said Ian Swanson, co-founder and CEO of Sometrics.  “This is a loyalty program that taps into a method consumers are already comfortable with – earning points or virtual currency for purchases they would make anyway at their favorite stores.  It’s a great way to start monetizing gamer users who don’t want to pay to play."

Sometrics touts the fact that the Shopping Feed purchases are a "safe and secure" way of earning virtual currency without simply buying it, so it seems clear why these shopping affiliate programs are making their way into the social gaming space. This is another way for ad offer networks (and Sometrics does monetize through ad offers) to generate revenue without having to deal with affiliates who may be supplying them with fraudulent or misleading inventory. 

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