How Does Gamification Contribute to Customer Engagement?

Currently, the buzzword is gamification. In modern gamification, game design principles and game thinking are applied to non-game scenarios. Modern gamification has its roots in the video game industry. With the evolution of digital technology, gamification techniques are more accessible than ever.

Ecommerce gamification: what is it? Gamification refers to incorporating gaming and video gaming strategies into commercial processes, whether they are online sales or physical stores.

Engaging your customer is essential, but why? Customers who are engaged generate more sales, higher customer retention, and more referrals. In comparison with average customers, full-engagement customers show higher loyalty and profitability, according to a Gallup analysis.  Our explanation of the digital customer experience began as we identified the mediating role of the customer experience. The relationship between the components of these two concepts and customer engagement was identified by identifying the relationships between them. Each of these components must work together. The gaming experience can be affected by these components. Different methods can be used to achieve this experience. Customer engagement can be enhanced or diminished depending on the outcomes. Brands must be clear about what they want gamification to accomplish and be able to reverse engineer gamification processes in order to achieve those goals. Gamification must be a strategic decision, not a spontaneous one. Gaming can be integrated effectively with other marketing campaigns.   The purpose of gamification is to make gamified activities more engaging for participants. Gamified activities serve to satisfy participants’ needs for Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness, as well as bring positive experiences and emotions. Meanwhile, there is the opinion that gamification is a trick to entice people into taking action they otherwise wouldn’t take.  Creating a game out of the process of product browsing or purchasing gives consumers a more enjoyable experience out of an activity that has become somewhat repetitive and onerous for most of them.

 

An eCommerce marketing or sales plan should have gamification strategies that have the following four steps to retain users:

  • What makes them play: what triggers them.
  • It takes effort: there has to be time and effort invested.
  • Playing the game: how it is done.
  • Rewards: the benefits collected for the effort.

This journey emphasizes the value of time and effort, along with a prize that corresponds to it. Online shoppers do not want to be caught up in Squid Games that ask too much and reward them with too little. Instead of creating loyal customers, you might lose some of your current customers. By using gamification in your e-commerce strategy, you can: attract more customers, inspire trust, demonstrate that your company is different, increase sales, and understand customer behaviors, expectations, and desires.

Gamification in e-commerce: how to take advantage of it?

In order to successfully implement e-commerce gamification, you need to get to know your customers and their preferences. In ordering how people make purchasing decisions today, keep in mind people’s buying decisions.

Gamification of online shops offers many benefits –

  • The abandonment rate is reduced: The checkout process is easier, and more sales result in more visits.
  • Increase customer loyalty: By simplifying data collection and inviting them to take part in engaging activities, customers are more likely to become loyal to your brand.
  • Engage new segments: Games can help your brand connect with younger customers and audiences you weren’t aware of previously.
  • Gaining visibility on the internet: Gamification activities tend to receive a lot of attention via social media and are therefore promoted more broadly.

eCommerce Gamification Best Practices – The right approach to gamification can smooth the buyer’s journey by accommodating customers at the same time. Here are some of our favourite gamification examples that you might find useful for your eCommerce store:

  • Spin the Wheels – Wheels of fortune are used by many eCommerce sites as a reward system for giving away discounts and deals. Providing unexpected discounts, free shipping, and other offers can entice potential customers. Visitors could be told to come back tomorrow if there is no luck today, by putting a “No luck today” slice on the wheel. First-time visitors can also get email addresses as a result of this type of gamification. They can be able to use those emails to market sales.
  • A Loyalty Program for Customers – Customers earn loyalty points for various actions and events, such as placing an order, leaving a review, sharing referral links with friends, or celebrating their birthday. Gamification of this type uses primarily the core drives of Ownership and Possession and Development and Accomplishment. In addition, your customers will see the loyalty points as milestones to achieve and will want to get more than they currently have.
  • Points are awarded to members who are registered – Clubs that offer members benefits are another classic originating from traditional commerce. Using a points system is the most effective way to generate participation in e-commerce so that users are able to accumulate digital credits with each purchase they make, which can be redeemed for discounts or free items. You can also offer experiences, such as courses or demonstrations tailored to your needs.
  • Referrals rewards – Gamification strategies, which reward consumers for referring new customers, have become increasingly popular in recent months. Almost any type of product or company can reap the benefits of this, even banking, because shoppers do not need to spend more for this to happen, which makes it really easy and appealing for them. By using tracked links and leaving a review on the website or specialized platform, users receive discounts each time they refer a friend to the online store.

Gamification is best achieved by developing a gaming app, the highest level of gamification. Since these actions work for a short period of time, they are difficult to build and maintain, but they are well worth the effort.

As an example, McDonald’s runs games throughout the year, encouraging customers to download an app so they can enter codes, earn points, and earn prizes. Using this strategy, you can reach customers who typically only visit physical stores online as well as offline. Some brands have even created an app to be used by recurring consumers, associated with their exclusive member clubs. Victoria’s Secret created an app with minigames and a completely individualized product catalog.

It is not always rational for a customer to make a purchase. The likelihood of them taking action increases if the action path is clearly defined and there are signposts that lead to subsequent steps.

Gaming in business achieves exactly that; it offers customers a set of predefined options they can choose from and then make a purchase.

These types of activities can be used by small eCommerce businesses to stimulate a variety of positive behavior. Now that you are familiar with gamification examples, you should be able to apply them to your online store.

Learn how Blaash.io Personalized Recommendations can motivate your visitors to buy by leveraging real-time analytics.