The dynamics of Ibotta’s user base are changing, however, as it expands beyond its origins in grocery shopping to include more male-friendly retail partners such as Best Buy, Burger King and GNC. It has also introduced some more elements of competition into its app, which could favor increased use among men.

“It used to be much more disproportionately female, but that number is coming down,” said Bryan Leach, CEO of Denver-based Ibotta.

Ibotta is an app that allows shoppers to earn cash rebates by performing certain tasks such as taking a survey or watching a video. The company recently crossed the $10 million threshold in terms of rebates issued.

By the numbers
The Denver-based company surveyed 8,500 of its users to commemorate the recent milestone and found that 70 percent of the top savers were women. It also said that the 10 users who had saved the most money using its app were college-educated.

It found that grocery products still dominate its list of discounted products favored by shoppers obtaining rebates through Ibotta.

Of the 10 most purchased items using Ibotta, eight are food items. The other two, Huggies Wipes and Dove shampoo, are also supermarket items.

Ibotta users can redeem their earned rebates as cash or gift cards.

Among other data from the survey: Texas and Florida appeared to have a high concentration of top savers, with residents of Houston and San Antonio topping the list. They were followed by the Florida cities of Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa.

This summer Ibotta introduced what Mr. Leach described a “social sharing” tool in which teams of shoppers are given joint savings goals. Within the app, team members can message each other and provide encouragement.

“That has resulted in a difference conception of the intersection of social media and deal delivery and savings,” Mr. Leach said.

New venues
Ibotta has also expanded to new retail channels, including home electronics, accessories and apparel chains including Aeropostale and Express, and more restaurants, such as Chili’s. In addition, it recently launched a wide-scale discount program for beer, wine and spirits.

“People don’t want to have a lot of different apps for savings,” Mr. Leach said. “You want one that can be your go-to app you can use for all your shopping.”

He said the concept of cash rebates resonates well with Ibotta’s users, giving the company an edge over coupon distributors.

“The psychological effect of getting cash back is different that a coupon,” Mr. Leach said.

Final Take

Mark Hamstra is content director at Mobile Commerce Daily, New York