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Retailers use gamification to drive engagement

Written by Guest contributor

Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of an article from Retail Dive, an e-newsletter and website providing a 60-second bird's eye view of the latest retail news and trends

As any adult who has downloaded Candy Crush or Angry Birds can attest, gaming isn't just for kids anymore. As many retailers can tell you, gamification strategies are a great way to get people to engage with your brand more holistically.

For those unfamiliar, gamification uses elements of play and common game mechanics such as points, badges and other incentives in nontraditional contexts in order to affect behavior. Done right, gamification is a subtle but fun way to get people engaged.

Among the efforts:

  • GameStop recently introduced a desktop "Monster Hunt" promotion in partnership with Google Maps and Warner Brothers Interactive. The promo invited players to register at GameStop.com to hunt monsters on city streets around the world to win one of 100 $50 gift cards.
  • Bonobos has been hiding models dressed in its khakis on partner sites and awarding the first 50 people to find the images each day with a $25 credit and free shipping.
  • L Brands' Pink Nation, a subsidiary of Victoria's Secret, offers in-app games such as Pink-O to deliver exclusives, prizes and other incentives. Last year during spring break season, Pink added an in-app scavenger hunt to target its college-aged core customers.
  • The Home Shopping Network (HSN) — a believer in gamification since its HSN Arcade helped the company register more than 700,000 shoppers — added an in-app slot-machine game, Spin to Win, in 2013 to target young, affluent shoppers with discounts and prizes.

GameStop Witcher
Source: GameStop

Gamification helps make apps "sticky," getting users to spend longer periods of time with an app and encouraging them to return again and again. Making achievements visible on social media also helps bring out the competitive spirit in like-minded shoppers.

Not only can gamification drive one-time and repeat actions, it can also offer insights into customer preferences that can help retail marketers target customers better via mobile and other channels.

The Pink Nation app, for instance, features another game that asks shoppers to choose whether they "want" or "need" items included in the day's showcase products, asking users to make a Tinder-style swipe left or right to register interest. The result? Better curated content.

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