Do You Want More People to Use Your Mobile App? Consider Gamification

The number of mobile apps on the market is growing rapidly, as is the number of downloads. In 2021, people installed about 230 billion apps on their smartphones, which is 63% more than in 2019. However, along with this seemingly positive trend, there is a problem for business owners. Users delete 23% of programs in the first 24 hours, and 50% of customers abandon apps after a month of working with them. How can a company increase user engagement? One of the options for resolving this issue is to introduce gamification into a mobile app.

Gamification in non-gaming apps

Have you ever participated in a grocery store promotion where chips are given out for purchases? After collecting a specific number of stickers, a user exchanges them for promotional goods or buys them with a small surcharge. And you probably know about such a teaching technique when a student receives a sticker for the successful completion of tasks. No doubt, with such incentives, buyers and students will want to participate “in the game” again.

The examples above are variants of gamification, that is, the application of gaming techniques in non-gaming environments. In mobile apps, this approach is used to interest clients, create a positive perception of a brand, and involve them in working with programs. By completing tasks and seeing their achievements, a client interacts with a product more actively and will not look for alternatives on the market.

Taiwanese-American entrepreneur Yu-kai Chou believes that gamification makes users feel successful.

Why gamification is important

The use of game elements in the game environment can become a mechanism that retains customers and reduces the bounce rate. This behavior is largely determined by the fact that gamification is closely related to psychological triggers such as:

curiosity (people wonder what will happen if they complete a task);willingness to be better than others (users like to compare their own achievements with the results of other participants);users’ desire to control their actions in an app (and not to do what they are forced to do).

By influencing these triggers through gamification, the creators of an app form a positive attitude towards the product among users. A piece of evidence for this comes from a study by Matthias Koepp, Professor of Neurology at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London. The scientist found that the achievement of gaming goals and the very fact of solving complex problems in a video game leads to the fact that the brain produces more dopamine. Therefore, including game elements in a non-game app can have a similar effect. That’s why users like to work with a program including such a “reward system”.

Gamification is also partly based on another psychological effect discovered by the Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik. The scientist determined that the memory of unfinished actions lasts longer than that of completed ones. In other words, if a person has not completed a task, they “will not calm down” until they cope with it. That is why some gamification levels need to be reached gradually, given the restrictions and rules. This encourages users to return to an app again and again.

Gamification is becoming an important part of mobile app projects and the basis for user competition. The gamification market is growing steadily, it reached a record $12 billion in 2021.

Gamification in action: what elements should be included in an app

Gamification means developing a custom design for an app and thinking through the workflow of a “game”. Developers and designers use the following methods to turn a one-time customer into a DAU (Daily Active User):

badges that users receive for performing certain actions;levels that gradually become more difficult, motivating people to upgrade their skills, knowledge, or status;infographics that illustrate the user's performance and the dynamics of achievements;rewards that a client receives as a result of completing “missions”;rating of leaders, so that a player compares their results with the success of other participants;in-game money that gets into the user's "piggy bank" for achievements and which they can exchange for game advantages;avatars that add a bit of personalization to an app;closed content that becomes available to users for their achievements;a progress bar that shows the percentage of completed tasks, and so on.

Let's look at 6 examples of apps in which gamification works successfully.

Apps for learning

Educational platforms are among the first candidates for gamification because the learning process is like completing a mission in a game. About 80% of American workers believe that gaming-based learning is more fun than the standard way of obtaining knowledge.

An example of this is Deloitte’s introduction of game elements into a training program for employees. As soon as the company added badges, leaderboards, and status symbols to the process, the program time to certification diminished by 50%.

With the help of gamification, Microsoft managed to localize part of its products for 36 languages ​​using the "Language Quality" game. More than 500,000 employees viewed 4,500 screens and found linguistic and factual errors in the company's products. Together with this, a leaderboard was maintained, and the Japanese office won.

Banking and financial apps

Gamification is quite possible to implement for atypical, “serious” financial apps. Banks and other financial companies are inventing new approaches that motivate customers to buy new services and actively use them. Organizations are looking for compelling tools to influence and increase customer engagement. This makes the user experience even better.

Emirates NBD bank implemented a unique idea through gamification. The company invited customers to link their accounts to a fitness app to track physical activity. Participants complete tasks, pass levels, and receive rewards for achieving certain goals. For example, if a customer completes a task of 12,000 steps per day, they are offered a 2% interest rate. Over 76 Android users are improving their health and financial well-being with Emirates NBD.

Australian CommBank implemented gamification to educate users on real estate investment. Beginners learn how to invest in housing without risking capital. When understanding the complex world of investments and practicing in simulated conditions, they can easily get a new type of income.

Apps for sales and marketing

Some brands use gamification to advertise and increase sales. They create game apps or embed game elements into the main business platform to attract the attention of the target audience and motivate customers to use their services.

So, KFC Japan increased sales by 106% with the help of gamification. The brand, together with Gamify, implemented an app that not only informed customers about new products but also offered to “earn” a discount. Users of the game app became the defenders of the KFC fortress against the Ebi shrimp trying to take over the KFC world. As a result, the advertising campaign attracted more than 190,000 unique players, 22% of whom earned discounts on KFC products.

Australian bakery shop Donut Papi created its own gaming app to attract more shoppers in Sydney. The essence of the game is to find matches among virtual donuts and earn points. The player who scores more points receives a set of six donuts as a gift. The tournaments, which were held weekly, led to stunning results, and the customer base doubled.

Conclusion

The above examples are far from all the possibilities provided by the gamification of mobile apps. The introduction of game elements makes it easier for users to work even with complex apps, motivates them to use software products more often, and forms a loyal community of brand followers. In addition, it distinguishes a “creative” brand from other identical apps thus ensuring competitiveness.

With an mvp services partner, gamification is easy to implement. Such a step will be useful for interacting with employees, customers, or students. After all, who doesn't like to play?