Carrot Insights
Type of businessPrivate
Founded2015 (company)
March 2016 (app)
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Area servedOntario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories
Key peopleAndreas Souvaliotis (Founder & CEO)
Jeff Irwin (President)
URLcarrotinsights.com
Current statusDefunct
Native client(s) oniOS, Android, watchOS

Carrot Rewards was a mobile app for residents of three Canadian provinces and one territory, allowing users to complete health questionnaires and track steps in exchange for rewards points.[1] The app was developed by Toronto-based Carrot Insights, a certified B corporation founded in 2015.[2] The app was first launched in British Columbia during March 2016, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador during June 2016, Ontario during February 2017, and the Northwest Territories only weeks before the app discontinued service in June 2019.[3] Users could choose during sign-up whether they want Aeroplan, Scene, Petro-Points, More Rewards or Drop rewards points.[4] RBC Rewards was also added as an option in June 2018.[5] Survey points were paid for by the organization which created the survey and step points were paid for by the provincial government where the user lives.[6] Carrot Rewards had also partnered with Heart & Stroke, Diabetes Canada and YMCA Canada.[7] The app was later expanded to include questionnaires and surveys on energy conservation and financial literacy.[8] In November 2018, an optional paid tier was added to the Carrot app, allowing users to receive bonus points for completing their goals.[9] Carrot shut down on June 19, 2019, after their "funds eventually ran out and [they] could no longer be in business".[10] However, in December 2019, social media accounts were updated with statuses saying “stay tuned”. In January 2020, Optimity bought Carrot Rewards and relaunched the health app under a new model.[11]

Criticism

Sylvia Jones, a Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario criticized Carrot Insights for advertising a service to check credit scores in the app which was powered by Equifax Canada, leading to customer personal information being breached in the Equifax data breach.[12] Carrot Insights responded by stating that funds provided by the Ontario government were only used to pay for step tracking rewards points.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Meissner, Dirk (31 August 2015). "B.C. launching 'Carrot Rewards' program to encourage to healthy living". The Canadian Press. Retrieved 25 December 2017 – via CTV News.
  2. ↑ "Ontario gives $1.5M to app that offers rewards points for healthy behaviour". Metro International. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Delane, Anna (14 June 2016). "New app aims to help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians get healthy". CBC News. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Woods, Jonathan (1 April 2016). "Why The Carrot App is Killing It with Loyalty Reward Points". Techvibes.
  5. ↑ Shankar, Bradly (14 June 2018). "Carrot Rewards adds RBC Rewards points as new reward option". MobileSyrup. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  6. ↑ Rooke, Charlene (1 October 2017). "Carrot Rewards nudge users toward healthy, wealthy habits". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Miller, Adam (3 August 2015). "Federal government's new healthy living app rewards Canadians with points". CTV News. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Shankar, Bradly (13 November 2017). "Canadian Bankers Association partners with Carrot Rewards to offer points for completing financial literacy quizzes". MobileSyrup. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  9. ↑ Shankar, Bradly (26 November 2018). "Canadian-made Carrot Rewards app launches premium subscription tiers". MobileSyrup. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  10. ↑ Marotta, Stefanie (19 June 2019). "Ottawa-backed Carrot Rewards app shutting down after failing to find a buyer". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  11. ↑ Sagan, Aleksandra. "Optimity buys Carrot Rewards, plans to relaunch health app under new model". Vancouver Courier.
  12. ↑ Benzie, Robert; Rushowy, Kristin (2 October 2017). "Tory MPP wants company to return government funds because of possible link to Equifax". Toronto Star. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  13. ↑ Marotta, Stefanie (2019-06-19). "Ottawa-backed Carrot Rewards app shutting down after failing to find a buyer". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
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