Gigwalk expects mobile workforce to double

With the addition of an Android app, mobile workforce leader Gigwalk expects its on-demand workforce to soon exceed 600,000.

The two-year-old San Francisco-based technology company already has 325,000 workers, known as Gigwalkers, using its app on iPhones to perform a variety of mobile research and store audit functions. The addition of an app for Android phones is expected to more than double the number of Gigwalkers because Android phones are more prevalent in the market.

“In order for Gigwalk to achieve our goal of building the largest and most-effective smartphone army in the world, we must tap into talent that lives across multiple mobile platforms," said Matt Crampton, founder and chief technology officer of Gigwalk. "While this news positively impacts thousands of potential new Gigwalkers and creates meaningful jobs, it also gives us increased bandwidth for a higher amount of customers, coverage, speed, and completion rates."

The app's functionality is similar to the iPhone app. For Gigwalkers, they log onto the app and instantly see available Gigs in their area. Once they begin working on Gigs, the app tracks completed and pending Gigs. For businesses, the app connects into Gigwalk's back-end engine that intelligently matches the best worker with each Gig. Businesses can also access Gigwalk's advanced reporting dashboard that allows them to view real-time metrics and insights on every job execution.

Businesses post Gigs such as store audits, retail merchandising, field photography, in-store demos, stockroom work, customer surveys and much more through Gigwalk.com. These are instantly delivered to users' phones through the iPhone and Android apps, where users can earn money by completing the Gigs. Gigwalkers earn an average of $12 to $15 per hour, according to the company.