Learn from the best gamification loyalty program examples.
Have you heard of Super Mario? Of course, you have. Why do you think we spent so much time saving Princess Peach?
Was it because their virtual world was more desirable than our reality? Well, it can be one of the reasons. But the main reason is far more complex than escapism.
We returned to those games to fulfill our natural needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The deadly combination of reward systems and good storytelling made the games appealing.
And marketers have identified how using gaming-related elements in business can help create brand awareness and boost customer engagement and loyalty.
Did you know that an average customer belongs to almost 15 loyalty programs but is only active in 7? It means only half of the global loyalty programs have active customers.
The same reports suggest that 53% of customers are more likely to engage with brands that offer gamified loyalty programs. It’s the secret ingredient for a successful loyalty program recipe.
Traditional loyalty programs are boring. Every business is copy-pasting the same program to lure customers. And the reason why gamification loyalty programs work so well is that they allow you to rise above this monotony.
We have already covered gamification in loyalty programs in-depth:
- How To Create A Gamified Loyalty Program For Your Shopify Store
- Ways To Gamify Customer Loyalty Programs For Higher Engagement And Retention Rates
And in this blog, we’re going to share some eCommerce gamification examples and what you can learn from them.
Without further ado, let’s jump right in!
Gamified Loyalty Program Examples and What You Can Learn From Them
Gamification in loyalty programs is suited for every eCommerce business, irrespective of what they sell. Here are some eCommerce gamification examples you can take inspiration from:
The Man Company
The Man Company is an India-based men’s grooming and wellness brand, a one-stop shop for men looking for affordable yet premium grooming products. With their out-of-the-box marketing strategies, they have placed themselves in a different league altogether.
Their gamification loyalty program, known as “The Man Wallet,” categorized their customers into tiers based on how much they interact with the brand. This tier reward system pushes customers to buy more to get into higher tiers.
The Man Company has leveraged the Flits app to set up this tiered reward program, which helped increase their repeat purchases and gamified the shopping experience. This is what their gold tier page looks like:
What You Can Learn
- The tiered reward system allows The Man Company to foster a long-term relationship with their customers because they’ll keep coming to stay in the top tier.
- The customers in the top tier get more rewards/benefits, which gamifies the shopping experience for them.
- The tiered loyalty program allows The Man Company to segment its customer base in a more natural way. The higher the rank, the more valuable they are to your company.
Simply Be
Simply Be, a women’s clothing brand, has been a staple in the plus-size community for years. Their aim has always been to highlight body positivity. And they started a gamified loyalty program to reward their customers for interacting with the brand and showing who they are.
Their gamification loyalty program encourages the customers to upload pictures of themselves wearing their favorite clothes by the brand or opening their monthly gift box. This strategy helps them create brand awareness. And because the customers get reward points, the number of repeat purchases also jumps up.
What You Can Learn
- The gamified loyalty program of Simply Be enables the brand to leverage the power of word-of-mouth. Customers turn into brand advocates, sharing their experiences in lieu of freebies and discounts.
- They have incorporated surprise elements for gamification of the loyalty program, which increases the purchase frequency.
Victoria’s Secret PINK
PINK, a lingerie and apparel line by Victoria’s Secret, is a subsidiary targeting younger women than their main line. The target audience of this line consists of youth aged between 13 to 22.
For their loyalty program, Victoria’s Secret created a separate app for the PINK line, where the customers got points when they signed up for the “Fashion Show Sweeps” contest. Some of the contestants win a trip to the company’s fashion show.
The app comes with engaging content and built-in games, which increase the engagement of users with the brand. It also has member-only offers and access to exclusive events, which makes the app worth installing for regular customers.
What You Can Learn
- The gamification loyalty program members earn additional points when they play in-app games and participate in social media contests which boost brand awareness and purchase frequency.
- The Victoria’s Secret app comes with in-app quizzes and surveys, which allows the brand to gather a truckload of customer data and increase website visits.
- With this collected data, the brand knows the preferences of every customer, which makes it easier to target them with personalized ads.
Sephora
Sephora, a French multinational retailer of beauty and personal care products, has always understood how emotions can drive sales. And it’s one of the reasons why they have leveraged gamification in loyalty programs. They use it to build an exclusive community.
This loyalty program also used the tier-based reward system to hook customers. They can join the program for free as an “Insider,” but to move up the ladder, they have to make purchases. The VIB tier requires customers to spend at least $350/year, and if they spend over $1000/year, they reach the Rogue tier.
And obviously, as customers move up the tier, they get access to more discounts, reward points, early access to deals, and much more.
What You Can Learn
- Sephora’s gamified loyalty programs build a competitive atmosphere where customers in the lower tier purchase more to reach the higher level.
- The exclusivity of offers and early access to deals increases the purchase frequency of customers.
Canningvale
Canningvale is an Australian homeware shop that follows a different strategy to increase enrollment in its loyalty program.
They’ve worked on creating an exceptional explainer page for their loyalty program. This page acts just like a gaming manual that guides its players about what they need to do to get started.
On their explainer page, they have clearly outlined the program’s benefits and used separate color codes for different tiers.
When customers see the benefits of subsequent tiers, they instantly know what they are missing by not being a part of the higher level. The explainer page gives customers a clear idea of how much they need to spend to move to the next level.
What You Can Learn
- The explainer page can boost the scarcity effect of your loyalty program by clearly indicating to customers what they’re missing out on.
- The scarcity effect will lead to more participation which will increase your sales because the customer will purchase more to reach the higher tier.
Sweet Lounge
Sweet Lounge is a multi-award-winning confectionery brand based in The Midlands. They provide delicious and high-quality candies without the inclusion of animals and plants in the manufacturing and packaging process.
Their customers get reward points every time they share posts of the brand, engage with them, or shop from them. Sharing reviews about their products on social media gives additional points to customers, which can be redeemed easily.
What You Can Learn
- Customers earn points for being brand advocates. This boosts the brand awareness of Sweet Lounge.
- When social media users read good reviews about Sweet Lounge, they even visit the store to try the products.
Lazada
Lazada, a Singaporean eCommerce company, is well known for its shoppertainment strategies. They have not just gamified their campaigns but the whole shopping experience too.
This company has incorporated tons of gamified features in its app, including collectible vouchers, referral rewards, daily discounts, a countdown timer, and much more. They are using gamification loyalty programs to the best of their potential.
There’s a feature in which customers get virtual banana seeds that users plant and wait for them to bear fruits. The seed grows a little every time customers purchase something. And when the fruit is harvested, a surprise gift is delivered to the customer’s doorstep.
What You Can Learn
- Lazada’s banana tree harvest program encourages customers to keep purchasing from time to time to keep the tree alive and growing. It boosts customer loyalty.
- The other gamification loyalty program features give customers store points which increase repeat purchases.
Some More Examples of eCommerce Store Using Gamification in Loyalty Programs
Woot
Woot, an Amazon company, is an eCommerce store that offers one product every day at an unbelievable price. The new product is offered at 12:00 AM Central Time each day. Every midnight people wait with excitement for Woot to reveal the product.
This is a good example of gamification that eCommerce brands can implement. Make your people wait for the sale product. Most of your customers will be hooked to your store at the given time to get the product at an amazing price.
Sand Cloud
Sand Cloud, a California-based bathing and lifestyle company, runs a successful loyalty program. They have gamified their loyalty program with the “spin-to-win” feature.
In their spinning wheel gamification strategy, customers have to spin the wheel, and if they’re lucky, they get discounts, reward points, and even freebies.
Other than the spinning wheel, they also run a regular loyalty program where customers can collect points by joining the loyalty program, making purchases, and engaging with them on social media channels. These reward points can then be exchanged for exclusive discounts.
St.Botanica
St. Botanica is clear about its loyalty programs. They want to be known as a brand with a purpose. When you join their loyalty programs, you get your first product through an expert’s recommendation.
They use a questionnaire to learn about your skin and hair type. And based on what you share, they suggest the product. And not just product recommendation, you also get the first product for free.
It’s a good gamified loyalty program to acquire new customers. And also keeps them hooked to reward points for all the purchases they make in the future.
Schlotsky’s
Schlotzsky’s is an American chain of restaurants. The brand has created a gamified loyalty app, Lotz4Me, and introduced gamification.
As CMO of the company, Mark Mears says, the gamified program helps them emotionally engage customers, “The idea of gamification and social media sharing has become its own sport, if you will. People have a chance to share their scores with their friends, and compare and contrast who is doing well and not well and there’s a psychic benefit to that.”
What you can learn:
The gamified loyalty program experience combines the program with social media. Customers are encouraged to share their scores on social media, with friends, and compare to compete against each other. This brings a psychological advantage and engages customers.
Aurelio’s
Another loyalty gamification example is Aurelio’s — a pizza brand that has a gamified loyalty app called, Pizzman Game”. Here, customers have to progress difficult levels to help Pizzman catch pizza toppings, in return customers get points that they can use to purchase pizza.
What you can learn:
The app is customized and has Aurelio branding such as the logo. When customers play the game, they see the logo and relate to it when they see the same logo in physical ads and hoardings. Moreover, the brand stays in touch with customers via the app by showing push notifications urging customers to play more to earn more. They also incorporate urgency and FOMO tactics to make customers play more on the gamified loyalty program app.
L’Oreal
The cosmetics brand, L’Oreal, has made gamification a part of its online experience in many different ways. For example, the brand has an app called Makeup Genius that enables customers to virtually try makeup, upload their photos online, and try different products. In addition, they have Beauty Squad, a gamified loyalty program that rewards customers for engaging with the brand in various ways — sharing reviews, posting on social media, events, etc.
What you can learn:
With both these gamification tactics, the brand has created opportunities for customers to engage with the brand, online and offline. The games bring in the fun and excitement and easily translate it to engagement and eventually, sales.
What are gamified loyalty programs?
Gartner defines gamified loyalty programs as, “Gamification is the use of game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve their goals.”
Gamified loyalty programs have elements of games in them. The idea of gamified loyalty programs is to engage and motivate customers to participate and earn more loyalty points or rewards. Gamification brings elements of competitiveness, instant gratification, and excitement into loyalty programs. And there’s a psychological factor involved, as well. Studies reveal that playing games releases endorphins and dopamine.
In recent years, the incorporation of gamification techniques has brought a shift in loyalty programs. Via gamification, online businesses can capitalize on people’s intrinsic drive for competitiveness, success, and fun. Customers are increasingly urged to take an active role in a brand’s ecosystem, earning points, badges, and awards for a variety of interactions that go beyond simple purchases.
How does loyalty program gamification help?
There are many benefits of gamifying loyalty programs — from making your loyalty program stand out to increasing engagement to generating more data and improving appeal. Here are some advantages you can add to your loyalty program by gamifying it:
Improve customer engagement
60% of customers are more likely to buy from brands that provide gamification experience. And 40% of millennials want loyalty programs with games. That’s because gamification increases engagement.
For example, it involves customers taking multiple actions repeatedly, not just once. The premise of most gamified loyalty programs is to encourage customers to earn more points by performing more actions that can earn them points, thus, boosting engagement.
Increase customer lifetime value
Gamification of loyalty programs make customers keep coming back for more, and hence increase the customer lifetime value. In addition, Shopify brands can keep collecting insightful customer data that can be used to personalize future campaigns to engage and boost sales.
Add value beyond transactions
Gamified loyalty programs help brands offer more than just monetary value to customers. For example, customers get to be a part of a community, engage in games, competitions, and enjoy personalized experiences.
Target and engage new generation customers
With an increasing consumer base comprising younger generations such as Gen Z, gamifying loyalty programs helps attract larger segments of consumers. Millennials and Gen Z are quite into gaming. Incorporating gamification can particularly help engage these segments.
Why use Flits to set up your Shopify gamified loyalty program?
To set up and run a loyalty program, you require a Shopify loyalty program app. Efficient apps help you manage and automate your loyalty program tasks. In addition, it also helps you collect important customer data that can be used for creating further customer engagement opportunities.
Many Shopify merchants prefer Flits Customer Account Page app on their site. The app comes with add on features to set up and manage loyalty programs. Moreover, the app has advanced capabilities that can help gamify the loyalty program and improve its value. Let’s understand why Flits is the best app for gamified loyalty programs on Shopify.
An interactive customer account page to engage customers
The basics of creating engagement is to hook customers — to get them to enjoy using features that are also helpful to them. Then, you add to it gamified experiences.
The Flits customer account page app brings multiple features that help improve engagement on the page. These features, when combined with loyalty program gamification, help increase engagement.
For example, you can combine features such as wishlists and referral programs with your loyalty program. Give loyalty points for non-purchase actions, such as, for referring new customers or for adding items to wishlists. These fun engaging activities are possible with Flits.
Flits allows you to customize your loyalty program page
Your loyalty program is a big part of your brand personality and identity. And hence, it’s a must to customize elements of your loyalty program so that they resonate with your brand. With Flits, you can customize your loyalty program.
For starters, you can create the type of loyalty program you prefer. And that gives you the option to create something unique. Secondly, you do the same with the gamification aspect. Gamify it to create a unique experience that no other brand offers.
Flits allows you to customize the customer account page template, the navigation color, the font color, button color, and the add-on features in the customer page.
Integrate other apps to enhance your loyalty program
You may require to use third-party apps for your loyalty program. For example, these could be for payments, for creative designs, etc. This helps to create better and unique gamification experiences.
Flits easily integrates with other apps, which can help you enhance customers’ experience further. Moreover, you can collect insightful customer data from the loyalty program and use it to better your gamified loyalty program. Explore all the integrations here.
Offer a mobile-optimized loyalty program experience
Customers not only browse products on their mobile, they are increasingly performing other activities related to shopping and brands via their mobile devices. For example, purchases, requesting returns and exchanges, making payments, and engaging with loyalty programs, too.
With Flits, you can provide an excellent mobile experience to your customers. You can have a mobile-friendly customer account page, social sign ups and logins, optimize your store credits or gamified loyalty programs, and more.
Flits offers add-on features that enhance experience
Your loyalty program or store credits may not be enough to engage customers after a point. You will need to add other elements to make it more exciting. And that’s where your other marketing features come in. Features such as wishlists, recently viewed products, reorder, etc., can be creatively combined with your loyalty program. And the good news is, Flits offers a range of these add-on features.
Create a Gamified Loyalty Program to Boost Your Sales
Customers are now bored of the usual give-and-take loyalty programs. They now feel that it’s more beneficial for the brand than for them to be a part of them. So, even after joining such programs, they stay inactive.
With gamification, loyalty programs become interesting and more customers want to be a part of them. The gamified loyalty programs bring more repeat purchases and spread the good word about the brand.
Using Flits, you can easily set up a gamification loyalty program in your store.
