The retail industry is intrigued by the e-commerce trend of gamification. As a result of its exponential growth in popularity, gamification in retail has become a crucial marketing tool for businesses looking to increase customer loyalty and revenue.

Because competition and rewards are intrinsic to affecting human nature, gamification experiences encourage customers to play, win, and maintain engagement throughout the crucial buyer’s journey.

This is further proven by the fact that the worldwide gamification market was estimated at USD 6.33 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.8% to reach USD 37.00 billion by 2027, with retail holding a potentially large share in this market.

From boosting the interest of consumers in old products to driving new customers, gamification in retail works on key areas of customer loyalty, increased profit, and high-end retention. This blog outlines everything you need to know about the role of gamification in the future of the retail sector, guiding trends, popularity-driving factors, and more.

Table of Contents:

• What is Gamification in Retail?
• How Gamification Induces Higher Customer Engagement in Retail?
  1. Uses Augmented Reality for Engaging Customers
  2. Implements High-End UX and UI for Brand Recognition
  3. Employs Rewards and Challenges within Games for Elevated Customer Retention
  4. Drives Specific Consumer Behavior
  5. Helps in Providing a Personalized and Interactive Experience
  6. Heightens Motivation for User Involvement
• Takeaway

What is Gamification in Retail?

Gamification in retail is the process of applying game techniques and aspects to non-gaming environments to impact consumer behavior positively.

It transforms shopping into a game, giving customers an enjoyable and engaging experience and benefiting retailers by increasing brand engagement, boosting ROI, and inducing user participation in online shopping.

Humans are naturally competitive, which is one of the reasons gamification is so effective. Rewards of any kind, whether material, monetary, or even virtual, readily inspire people.

By using this spirit of competition, gamification enables retail companies to provide productive incentives for customers.

How Gamification Induces Higher Customer Engagement in Retail?

Gamification in retail improves the customer shopping experience by driving their attention and making it a fun and interesting process.

Here are a few ways in which gamification helps to retain higher customer engagement.

1. Uses Augmented Reality for Engaging Customers

A trending technical development that has made a significant impact on the success of gamification in the retail sector is augmented reality (AR).

Retailers can build immersive experiences that truly connect customers with their businesses by using augmented reality (AR), which superimposes digital elements over the actual environment.

Users can use apps when in the store to solve puzzles, play games, and collect virtual rewards. Customers are engaged and amused by this gamified augmented reality experience, which also motivates them to investigate other products and spend additional time on the brand app or store.

For example, Businesses like Lowe’s and IKEA have started implementing these technologies to improve the shopping experience for their customers.

Additionally, by enabling customers to view clothing from various perspectives and make well-informed purchasing decisions, augmented reality (AR) can enhance the changing room experience in a retail setting.

2. Implements High-End UX and UI for Brand Recognition

User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) are essential components of successful gamified applications.

While UI design concentrates on the application’s aesthetic appeal and effective user interface, UX design plays a critical role in guaranteeing that users have a smooth and pleasurable experience.

Because users start to identify gamified apps with a company or brand, a well-designed UI/UX improves brand awareness and loyalty.

Also Read: Leveraging Content Gamification to Engage and Retain Customers

3. Employs Rewards and Challenges within Games for Elevated Customer Retention

A variety of gamification strategies are used to engage and motivate shoppers successfully. Rewards offer consumers a dopamine rush, which motivates them to do activities and interact with the brand more.

Examples of rewards include badges, scores, levels, discounts, and free offers. Customers are inspired to reach their goals and feel a sense of accomplishment when they see progress bars. 

Additionally, challenges are effective instruments that steer clients toward desired behaviors and provide contextually appropriate experiences. Virtual or in-game money influences user behavior, boosts retention, and piques their desire for tangible gains.

Ultimately, gamified applications that create virtual worlds increase user engagement and motivate users to return to the app regularly.

4. Drives Specific Consumer Behavior

You can choose practically any desirable customer behavior to reward that fits with your business goals by developing a suitable incentive schema and publicizing it effectively.

This allows you to accurately track ROI based on these particular behaviors and user activity.

Gamification in retail is highly efficient in encouraging particular customer behaviors that marketers would like to observe, such as completing surveys, influencing referrals, generating contacts, and completing registration forms.

5. Helps in Providing a Personalized and Interactive Experience

You can include personalization into the very fabric of your engagement strategy by gamifying retail. Interactive games and challenges are a simple approach to getting direct personal data from customers about their shopping habits.

Retailers may better understand their customers’ interests and customize their offers and promotions by gathering and studying this customer data.

When executed well, this offers a feeling of uniqueness and personalization that builds consumer value. It lessens invasive and irrelevant messaging, fostering long-lasting partnerships and raising the lifetime value of customer relationship management.

6. Heightens Motivation for User Involvement

Gamification in retail is an effective strategy for boosting user participation because it emotionally engages people and motivates them to achieve their objectives.

Gamification features two kinds of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. When gamification is paired with financial incentives, it loses its effectiveness and beneficial effect as participants lack fulfillment and enjoyment.

However, extrinsic motivation, such as receiving a game-related discount shopping, enhances customer loyalty and contentment with the retailer.

If gamification and social interaction are integrated with marketing strategy, they have a great deal of potential to impact user behavior and encourage user engagement.

Also Read: Gamification in Corporate Training: Your Checklist for Training Success

Takeaway

While the idea of gamification in retail is not new, it is rapidly growing essential as shoppers become more immersed in the experience than ever. Retailers have to adapt as digital transformation has developed into a priority framework that includes artificial intelligence (AI), design thinking, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

In a nutshell, gamification in retail is the application of aspects of play and reward to impact and influence user behavior. With this evolving landscape, it’s rapidly emerging as the new retail battlefield for customer acquisition and growth.

If you are looking for integration of gamified solutions into your retail sector, get in touch with Hurix Digital. We provide gamified solutions with aligned game mechanics that ensure a heightened engagement rate and immersive user experience.