The growth of eCommerce businesses and stores has been rapid in recent years. Nowadays, everyone is moving toward opening an online store for customers, from big companies like Amazon to little neighborhood enterprises. This has had a significant impact on brand rivalry in the digital sphere.
Customers are king, and to attract them to eCommerce platforms, goals and methods for differentiation must be created. Businesses frequently identify strategies to increase platform traffic and customer conversion; gamification in eCommerce is one of them.
eCommerce gamification has become popular among companies as a way to draw in and interact with consumers. Learn the main advantages of this tactic as well as workable strategies to use it in your online store by continuing to read.
What Is Gamification In ECommerce And What Are The Advantages?
The method of leveraging rewards or achievements such as giving loyal customers badges and extra discounts on purchases to encourage customers to take action is known as eCommerce gamification.
In a similar vein, users accumulate reward points with each purchase, which they may then redeem for savings on subsequent purchases. The goal of the eCommerce gamification approach is to entice users to make purchases on the site. eCommerce systems can also use game-like elements in their advertising.
Users can, therefore, interact and make purchases when they encounter such marketing initiatives. It is an effective, intriguing, and captivating application that allows users to earn achievements and incentives for using the site to make purchases. These characteristics can benefit eCommerce platforms in several ways.
The following are the primary advantages of eCommerce gamification platforms to consider:
Grab Customers Attention
Customer attention is one of the main justifications for gamification on eCommerce platforms. Compared to other methods of encouraging purchases and regular marketing campaigns, such characteristics capture the attention of customers more rapidly.
Even after investing a lot of money in ads, marketers frequently search for methods to attract platforms. But this gamification keeps customers interested and draws in more. eCommerce systems stand a better possibility of turning consumers into devoted patrons the more interaction users have with the platforms.
Keep Customers Engaged
Gamification can improve consumer interaction between an eCommerce platform and its customers. Gamification will, therefore, maintain the interest of your users, whether they are new or repeat customers.
Users will like using these components to earn achievements and incentives, which will encourage them to stay on your site longer. Furthermore, if your rival lacks gamification, this may be one of its differentiators in luring clients. Additionally, if users stay on your platform for an extended period, the bounce rate will go down.
Reduce Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment is one of the main issues that eCommerce platforms deal with. Customers frequently choose items and put them in their carts without deciding on a payment method.
eCommerce platforms show an average eCommerce cart abandonment rate of 70.19%, according to research by Baymard. It claims that these problems are frequently encountered by more than half of eCommerce platforms.
This rate is concerning, given the number of eCommerce platforms and online shoppers. Therefore, one of the greatest strategies to lower cart abandonment is to use gamification components like loyalty points and reward points when clients check out.
Amplify Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is one of the main advantages that eCommerce gamification offers. You will be able to make more purchases the more points you accrue from each transaction. By providing discounts on certain items, you can maintain a strong hold on your clients.
You may boost customer loyalty to your eCommerce stores by giving your consumers discounts, delivering enjoyable shopping options, and encouraging more purchases.
Therefore, you may increase client loyalty by providing additional experience and features. Gaining new clients is harder and less effective than keeping existing ones.
Acquire Customer Insights
A crucial component of eCommerce platforms is customer information. Companies are better able to understand what customers need, apply this knowledge to their marketing campaigns, satisfy requests, and produce more precise target-specific content.
When consumers interact with gamification features, eCommerce systems can gain valuable knowledge about their customers. Basic user data can be gathered at the time of platform registration. You can also include customer analytics, such as the most exported products, the products that customers are looking for, the most engaging locations, etc.
Enhance Customer Experience
A better user experience can be had with an e-commerce platform that makes use of marketing campaigns and gamification. Users may experience boredom and monotony when they shop online.
Gamification is an excellent feature that will keep your users interested by giving them something to love and reward them with. Features that add gamification to a shopping experience, such as badges for loyal customers, loyalty points, and points for every purchase, will increase user efficiency and satisfaction.
Thus, you may enhance the customer experience on eCommerce systems by adding these functionalities.
Rise Brand Visibility
Engaging and interesting brands and features are shared by web users. Customers want to share gamification features across platforms because they are so engaging and fun. eCommerce platforms employ a variety of marketing strategies to increase brand awareness and draw in clients. Gamification, however, can be used to increase brand visibility and awareness without investing a lot of money in these. To comprehend the application and influence of features on platforms, users can review a variety of eCommerce gamification examples.
Read more: eCommerce: The Ultimate Guide to Types, Costs & Starting Your Business!
Some Gamification Elements You Might Incorporate Into Your E-Commerce Platforms
You may use and use gamification in your eCommerce store in countless ways. To keep visitors interested, you can add gamification elements and concepts to various website parts.
The following are the best gamification elements you may incorporate into your platform:
Points For Rewards For Members Who Have Registered
One of the most typical and well-liked eCommerce gamification ideas on your platform is reward points for registered users. A specific amount of points may be awarded upon registration. These points can also be given for each purchase they make on your website.
By accumulating these reward points, users might receive savings at the register. For example, a consumer can receive 20 cents off the whole purchase if they accumulate 2000 reward points. As the amount of points collected increases, so will these discounts. By doing this, you can lower cart abandonment rates while also promoting loyalty.
Referral Rewards
Incentives for referrals: Provide incentives for registered users who bring people to your website. Why? When a product or service is recommended or mentioned, online consumers are more inclined to buy it.
Studies show that brand awareness is positively impacted by referrals more so than by marketing activities. As a result, you can offer discounts or other incentives each time a new registration is obtained through a reference from an already-existing user. It will promote loyalty and encourage your current users to refer more people. Make use of this functionality for every member who has registered.
Fun Recommendations
One of the entertaining gamification components you may apply to your platforms is to draw users in and encourage purchases. Make lighthearted recommendations to keep your youthful and imaginative audience interested in the platform.
Make imaginative product recommendations based on their interests, personalities, or cartoon characters. Using copywriting such as "Are you a Hulk-like Iron Man or Captain America?" is one example. In a similar vein, you can entertain your customers with product recommendations.
Loyalty Programs
One of the best methods to keep your consumers engaged is through loyalty programs and prizes. Additionally, this function will attract more devoted users to your website. For example, launching a devoted customer loyalty program where you may provide benefits like first access to new product releases, extra product discounts of 10%, and gift cards for significant sales.
You can identify different clients who use your eCommerce platform frequently and provide loyalty programs to them. Additionally, you can provide devoted consumers twice as many incentive points as you would give new users.
Product Quizzes
Customers find that taking quizzes is the most entertaining, helpful, and enjoyable way to shop. eCommerce sites can use these product quizzes to promote purchases on some of the products you've saved or looked for the most. Provide two to three quizzes about the brands or products that are listed on your e-commerce platform. Provide extra discounts or prizes per your specifications if the user completes the quizzes within the allotted time.
Customers will spend more time on your platforms and remain engaged as a result. To win prizes, you can entice your consumers to purchase items, go through more of your inventory, and do these kinds of quizzes. Customers frequently find pleasure in such items and feel appreciated when given discounts.
Spin Wheel
Have you ever come across websites that display a spinning wheel popup? Spin wheels are frequently added to websites directly after users visit an eCommerce store. The spin wheel can be clicked by users to spin and displays a variety of features and rewards. The user will receive the specified reward for all purchases they make, regardless of where the pointer stops on the spin wheel. Users are drawn in and maintained interested by such characteristics. The user is likely to rotate even if they inadvertently clicked on your page.
By doing this, you can lower the bounce rate, raise brand recognition, and encourage purchases from customers as soon as they land on your site. During the holidays, you can use the spin wheel to boost sales if it's not used frequently.
Giveaways
One of the most popular and widely used strategies to engage consumers and boost buy intent is through giveaways. Numerous websites run social media giveaways where participants must like, follow, comment on, and promote the brand to be eligible for giveaways.
It's among the most effective strategies to market your company without spending a lot of money on advertising efforts. You can encourage brand promotion from your users. You can utilize these gifts to introduce a new line of merchandise.
As a result, you can increase platform client registrations and brand visibility. Consider how you want to interact with your clients and adjust your giveaway strategy accordingly.
Digital Challenges: Solve The Puzzle
The most distinctive aspects of gamification are digital challenges, which might be difficult for eCommerce to adopt but have a high engagement rate. As the name implies, you can provide substantial discounts to website visitors who complete little digital challenges.
You may give them an Easter egg search online, assign them a task to solve in a certain amount of time, or offer other games along these lines. Because players desire to participate and win prizes, these little games are engaging. Therefore, eCommerce systems can generate digital obstacles that users must answer based on business specialty, product launch, and requirements.
Certain Brands With Their Innovative Customer-Focused Gamification Features
Numerous well-known eCommerce platforms have employed gamification to engage users. Here are a few of the best instances that you can look at:
- KFC-Shrimp Attack Game: KFC created a mini-game in Japan to advertise their new shrimp menu. To defend the chicken fortress, players had to chop the ebi shrimp at the bottom of the screen. Eight million players and 600 hours of playing were drawn to the game.
- Starbucks- Loyalty points program: Every time a user purchases a drink, they can accrue points. These points can then be redeemed for prizes, free menu items, and free drinks.
- Duolingo: Duolingo provides a variety of educational puzzle games to boost user engagement. It enables people to learn languages enjoyably. These quizzes heighten users' sense of competition. To keep users interested in these educational quizzes, they award them with cash, certificates, badges, and more. They feel appreciated and are inspired to study more by these prizes.
- M&M: Product Customization: The M&M platform's customization feature lets users create their unique designs for everything. Individuals, including the packaging, designs, and colors, can customize some batches of M&Ms.
Conclusion
An e-commerce platform has the power to draw in and keep people interested. Gamification may make you stand out in a digital economy when every platform is trying to find methods to draw users.
The greatest thing about gamification is that it allows marketers to be innovative to draw in customers. In a similar vein, it holds consumers' attention for a while, offering you an opportunity to turn them into clients. Consequently, you may employ these gamification features for your consumers on your eCommerce site.
