Gamification is the concept of applying game-like features to traditionally non-game applications. By game-like features, we mean point systems, leaderboards, and badges. By non-game applications, we mean apps related to such sectors as finance, education, fitness, entertainment, and so on. 

In 2024, gamification is undeniably on the rise. Most tech sectors have realized the unparalleled impact it can have on engagement and customer retention. By simply adding game-like features to an app, a company can increase the popularity of its product tenfold. Below, we’ll explore several sectors that are fully utilizing gamification. 

Mobile games 

While mobile games are already games, their developers implement gamification techniques to encourage more regular play. For example, they introduce daily streaks and login bonuses to ensure that players use the game at least once per day. 

Many mobile gamers play daily to maintain streaks and boost their overall scores. This makes them more addictive and, therefore, more profitable for the developers. 

Online casinos 

Customer engagement is maintained in online casinos through lucrative bonuses that players can unlock by playing casino games. 

This is not limited to sign-up bonuses but also includes deposit bonuses, no-deposit bonuses, and many more. Daniel Smyth states that leading poker apps can match your first deposit by as much as 100%. These sites also come with a tiered VIP program that rewards customers based on tournament and rake fees paid. By doing this, online casinos have gamified the cash deposit process. 

This makes the entire gambling platform as fun and engaging as the slot and table games featured on the site. 

E-commerce 

E-commerce is one of the biggest and most profitable sectors that operates online. The market size is predicted to reach $67.05 trillion by 2033. The main reason for this is convenience, but it also has to do with the gamification of online shopping. Frequent customers are recognized and rewarded with prizes, points, and badges. These rewards often carry some degree of value. Normally, they can be exchanged for a free gift or can be used in exchange for a price reduction on future orders. 

You’ll also sometimes find e-commerce sites advertising such reward opportunities as “spend X amount to unlock X reward” or “earn bonus points by referring a friend”. 

Points systems can boost customer engagement and help to secure long-term customers. Plus, rewards are far easier to implement and control online than they are in person, hence the proliferation of gamification in online stores. 

Education 

Gamification is regularly used in the classroom to keep students focused. Classes are often split into teams to compete with one another in class projects. However, the importance of gamification has also been realized outside of the classroom. 

When it comes to self-learning, most educational applications implement a high degree of gamification. The best example of this is Duolingo, which uses leaderboards and grading systems to give learning a foreign language a tangible sense of progress. In addition to this, Duolingo features friend quests, which allow friends to collaborate in a game-like fashion. 

Lastly, this language learning app also includes a heart-based health system. If you run out of hearts – or ‘lives’ – you can no longer complete any lessons. Just like a video game, there’s a certain amount of risk involved in the game. If you play badly, you could ruin your daily streak. This, undoubtedly, keeps players engaged. There’s a reason why the app has over 500 million users. 

Staff training 

Staff training modules are often done online for convenience purposes. However, they tend to be text-based and unengaging. Gamification has been implemented into modern staff training programs to change that. 

Rather than consisting purely of mundane modules, staff training packs now come with quizzes and leaderboards to make the process more entertaining. Plus, knowing that they’ll later be quizzed, staff members become focused on retaining information. 

FinTech 

Several financial service-based apps implement gamification to help customers achieve financial goals. Some banks now reward customers for setting a savings goal and achieving it or remaining within budget over a set period of time. Other banks reward customers for setting up and maintaining their direct debits. Also, the likes of Monzo boast rounding-up features, which collects change from digital purchases. This change is then put into savings pots, which make it easier to save up.

Not only does all of this increase the fun and satisfaction of banking, but it also genuinely helps people become more financially responsible.  

Travel and tourism 

Gamification has not yet hit the travel and tourism sector fully, but it definitely will soon. There is an emerging trend of apps that seek to gamify the world of traveling. In these apps, tourists can create logs of all the landmarks, restaurants, beaches, etc. that they visit while backpacking or on vacation. Other travelers can see these updates and pin the locations. 

Travelers can also compete with one another in a race to visit the most countries, cities, towns, landmarks, and so on. 

While this concept is only in its infancy, the mass amount of world travel that’s going on in the world and its close connection to social media will definitely increase the number and popularity of gamified travel apps.

Photo at top: Alexas_Fotos via Pixabay

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