If you are wondering which app is better out of Gigwalk, Field Agent, Observa and EasyShift, I have the answer. I have experience with all of them as I have completed a combined total of 340 jobs with these four apps.
You should avoid EasyShift and give Observa and Gigwalk a try because they are two robust platforms. But my top recommendation is Field Agent.
What These Apps Have in Common
Although assignments vary, the most typical job for these four apps requires you to go to a store, take pictures of products and answer questions related to those products.
Each app is available for iPhone and Android devices and for all of them, you will be using the app on your smartphone to complete the assigned jobs. Job assignments are completed and submitted through the app.
In my experience, on average, you can earn up to $15 per hour of work, assuming you are already in the store when you accept the job. You also need to account for assignments that are rejected, which obviously will decrease your earnings per hour.
Based on my experience and research, the four apps belong to companies that are legit with many years of history and pay the money you earn.
Let’s go over the ranking. I will start from the bottom.
EasyShift (★)
What is EasyShift
EasyShift is an app created by Quri, which is a company established in 2009. Quri was acquired by Trax in 2018. Trax CEO, Bar-El has said that Quri, which leverages crowdsourcing, will enable Trax to reach more stores and offer more services to its customers.
Who is that crowdsourcing the CEO is talking about? You and I and everyone else who accepts a completes a job with the app.
The company, Trax wants to “transform the health of every retail shelf” by continuously digitizing the physical shelf.
That’s where you and I come in. We take pictures of every shelf in one or many store aisles, depending on the assignment. Then, we submit them through the app.
App Store Ratings and Reviews
The App Store rating is 2.4 out of 231 ratings. This is a very low rating for an app. These are some of the reviews shown on the App Store. You can see all the reviews here.
Number of Jobs I Have Completed and Money I Have Earned
I attempted two jobs, but I have only completed one of them, and I am not planning on doing any more EasyShift jobs. I earned $8.30 for that job.
My Experience with EasyShift
As I mentioned, the main job you will be doing with EasyShift is taking pictures of store shelves. The typical assignment asks you to capture all items in several product categories, such as milk, carbonated drinks, water, etc.
To accomplish this and get paid, you will have to take a lot of pictures and follow detailed instructions on how to take the pictures.
For example, one job asked me to capture all water, cat litter, and pet food items from a big supermarket. I probably took 50 pictures or more to complete the job. It took me over one hour and got paid $8.30.
I was tired after that job. You have to wait until people or employees are not by the aisle because they would reject the job if you show people.
There was one assignment I accepted, but I didn’t complete it. The job was at a gas station. I arrived at the gas station, and let me just say, for the looks of the building, I wouldn’t have gone inside even as a customer.
I was supposed to go inside and take pictures of all beverages, hot and cold, from left to right. For the beverages inside coolers, I have to open the door, prompting the door open, and take a picture. Of course, I never completed it.
I was thinking the owner (employee) of that gas station was going to approach me and point a gun at me and ask me, why are you taking pictures of all my stuff?
I find it very telling that under the FAQ, what to do when A Staff Member Asked Me to Stop/Leave the Store, it says that each Shifter is permitted to submit 3 Kick Out Claims within the span of 4 weeks.
So, I guess they expect you to be kicked out of stores often. Weird!
I decided not to accept any more jobs from EasyShift. Based on my experience, I have rated EasyShift one star out of five.
You can read my EasyShift full review here.
Observa (★★★)
What is Observa
Observa was founded in 2015. The company is described as a “platform that delivers AI-directed actions and real-time insights. Brands and retailers use Observa to improve store execution and drive a higher ROI on marketing and sales efforts.”
Just like Field Agent, see below, most opportunities with Observa involve going to a retailer and answering questions about brands in the store and taking pictures of certain products.
App Store Ratings and Reviews
The App Store rating is 4.3 out of 538 ratings. When you compared this rating to the 2.4 of EasyShift, you know we are entering a different league. These are some of the reviews shown on the App Store. You can see all the reviews here.
Number of Jobs I Have Completed and Money I Have Earned
I have completed a total of six jobs and one of them was rejected. I have made a total of $39.00 so far with Observa.
My Experience with Observa
First, I have to say that Observa is much better than EasyShift. Based on my experience, I would not use EasyShift, and I would keep Observa together with Gigwalk and Field Agent. More on these below.
I have only completed six jobs with Observa, not because I don’t like it, but because there were not enough jobs available in my area.
Most Observa jobs are more detailed and involved than the ones you typically get with Field Agent. Sometimes you have to take many pictures to complete a job, but unlike EasyShift, the pictures are usually from one specific brand within one area of the store.
That is, you may have to spend significant time with a particular job, but typically you don’t have to walk all over the store.
Also, Observa often provides an authorization letter from the product company, meaning you have the authorization to do the job. Because of this authorization, you are not scared or embarrassed if I store employee asks you to live the store, unlike EasyShift.
One of my jobs was declined, but it was my fault. I didn’t do a good job with it. Ultimately, we are hired as an independent contractor to complete a job as accurately as possible. I didn’t do that, and the job was rejected. Lesson learned.
Observa is the app that pays the fastest of the four. Once approved, most of my jobs were paid within a couple of hours.
You can read my Observa full review here.
Gigwalk (★★★)
What is GigWalk
Gigwalk was founded in 2010 with the goal of reinventing work in a mobile world. Field Agent also was born at about the same time with the same intentions (more on Field Agent next). By then, EasyShift was already in place, and Observa would come to life in 2015. All of them are currently competitors in the mobile gig economy.
App Store Ratings and Reviews
The App Store rating is 4.6 out of 3,300 ratings. You would think that GigWalk is better than Observa because Observa has a rating of 4.3. At least in my experience, both of them are very similar. This is why I gave both a 3 star out of 5. These are some of the reviews shown on the App Store. You can see all the reviews here.
Number of Jobs I Have Completed and Money I Have Earned
I have completed a total of five jobs. I have made a total of $29.20 so far with GigWalk.
My Experience with GigWalk
My experience with GigWalk is limited to five jobs, and they were all pretty straight forward. Again, not because I don’t like it, but because there were not enough jobs available in my area.
A couple of them were liquor store validation audits, which were very easy to complete. Two other ones were paper goods validation jobs, where I have to take a significant number of pictures of shelves showing the inventory levels of paper goods.
And for one more I had to take pictures, answer questions and try man perfumes in a department store. My wife wondered where I had been all day smelling like perfume, haha!
You can read my GigWalk full review here.
Field Agent (★★★★)
What is Field Agent
Field Agent is an on-demand platform that mobilizes smartphone users called “agents.” Agents use the Field Agent app to complete retail audits, mystery shops, market research, and digital product demonstrations.
App Store Ratings and Reviews
The App Store rating is 4.8 out of 11,100 ratings. That’s a very strong rating and my experience validates that the are the best of the four. These are some of the reviews shown on the App Store. You can see all the reviews here.
Number of Jobs I Have Completed and Money I Have Earned
I have completed a total of 329 jobs. I have made a total of $1,229.70 so far with Field Agent. I started to work on Field Agent jobs on January 1, 2020, which is quite a lot of pocket money for about 4.5 months.
My Experience with Field Agent
After completing over 300 jobs, I feel that I have seen all types of jobs and have a strong first-hand experience with them to provide a review.
For me, Field Agent jobs have been a convenient way to make extra money without much effort as I was on the go for other purposes. Sometimes I go to specific Field Agent jobs when they are available, but most of the time, I complete jobs when I am already out, maybe shopping or on some other errand.
Not every Field Agent job is pleasant or easy to complete. But on average most jobs don’t require much brainpower and pay relatively well for this type of gig. I believe I am averaging between $12 to $15 an hour. Often while I am also shopping or grabbing food to go to a restaurant.
If you are following this blog, you know that I retired from my main occupation (Banking Audit and Compliance) and have decided to become an entrepreneur instead of just retiring.
Field Agent is my top-earning app and will significantly help me accomplished my annual income goals.
You can read my Field Agent full review here.
Summary Table
Here is the summary table for the four apps. You may also want to see how much money I have made from the beginning with all the platforms. And may also want to take a look at the quarterly income reports.
Video Summary
Let’s wrap up with a quick summary video I have created. If you like this video, consider subscribing to the Finance Notebook Youtube Channel.
Final Thoughts
These jobs don’t replace a full-time job or a strong part-time job, but are, at least for me, a very efficient way to earn extra cash without much effort. Ultimately my goal is to identify all gigs and other entrepreneurial activities that are worth trying and write about them in this blog.
Unlike many other blogs out there, I test every money-making opportunity I write about. It is one thing to write about these topics based on other people’s opinion and another thing, very different, to write based on your own experience and sweat.
Writing this blog and also another one I just started in the house improvement niche is my main activity. They both will be essential to achieve my future annual income goals. For now, though, they don’t make any money, but that is expected as most blogs don’t generate any money until at least one year of consistent writing.
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