• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, May 12, 2011

Shopkick, the app that automatically rewards users with reward points towards purchases when they enter participating retailers arrived with much fanfare last summer. Since then, the shopkick app created by the startup of the same name has attracted 1.5 million users, 40% of whom use it monthly, and 20%, weekly.

The company has also built up a roster of large retail partners including Best Buy, American Eagle Outfitters, Target and Crate & Barrel in 80 markets across the country. The updated version of the shopkick app released today adds new personalization features including a "Faves" screen that lets users choose their favorite stores from among more than 50 national retailers to get special offers and deals.

The shopkick app has a rating of four out of five stars in iTunes App Store based on nearly 15,000 ratings. The latest version so far is rated slightly higher, with four and a half stars, but based only 56 responses. Shopkick, which has raised $20 millionn from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, competes with CheckPoints, Armadealo and other mobile barcode apps.