How to Gamify a Mobile App: Pro-Tips and Real-World Examples

The hamburger UX/UI in mobile apps has yet to show a 'wow' factor. Sure, a presentable concept to present information and users' choices on a single screen seems good. Also, it's mobile-friendly. But the issue here is users sometimes feel drifting away. And as an inevitable app scale, the complexity also keeps on increasing.

Hence eliminating such pain points mobile app developers have turned to integrating gamifying elements and micro-mechanics. In the hope to make an appreciable difference and increase their user base. It simplifies the user journey at the same time makes it more engaging. So let's learn how and why mobile app development are banking on gamification of mobile applications.

What is App Gamification?

The concept of gamification revolves around integrating game-like elements and animations into a non-gaming app. Naturally, people are drawn to games which create a challenging and exciting environment. Hence, Gamification is a strategy that simplifies the user journey on the app.

Whether it is an everyday mobile app that you use at your workplace or a creative app designed to improve product adoption and usage, gamification is surely the strategy you need. Users love to interact with mood boards, leaderboards, progression bars, badges or earn points. In this sense, the practice of implementing game-like elements like a reward system, points, leaderboard, and dam dynamics like quizzes and contests into a non-gamified environment is called gamification. By strategically incorporating the following elements, you can successfully gamify your app.

Strategic Progression Level
Achievement Badges
FOMO aversion
Interactive Social elements

The Two Core Benefits of Gamification

Reduced churn Rate - A fun and engaging environment encourages users to reduce their churn rate. Let us explain how. An easy and fun onboarding process is likely to encourage users to complete the onboarding process on time. LinkedIn is a great example of this. Leveraging the progress tracker, they found an active way to streamline the entire onboarding process. This makes it all fun and easy with a 20% increase in the churn rate.
Increased Customer Acquisition Rate - A playful environment that is equally rewarding encourages both old users to participate in the revamped infrastructure.

How to Gamify Your App

The latest Gartner studies reveal that 70 % of the top 2000 global businesses integrate gamification strategies into their mobile apps. Application gamification is a proper blend of behavioral science, art, and technology. It revolves around incorporating psychological principles with best technology practices.

With strategic planning, you can gamify your mobile app to empower your users so that they can constantly track their progress and progress further. Let us provide solid tips and top ways that you can add gamification to your existing mobile app.

1. Set an Objective and Define Target Audience

This is the most important step in your app gamification. It sets the foundation for gamification by incorporating appropriate gaming elements in your app. For example, If the purpose of your app is to boost employee productivity then the gaming elements you would incorporate will slightly differ. If you want app users to try your product and spend on your products, then the gaming elements you incorporate slightly differ.

2. Create Adaptive Gaming loops

Creating a creative gaming loop motivates the users to fulfill their purpose. At the same time, it also allows the users to level up by creating a series of action loops.

Motivate the users: The game motivates the users to take part. By creating incentives, you motivate them to actively participate in the game.
Attach an action: Attach a reward system at the end of the action. This will keep the excitement intact while walking through a series of actions.
Collect Feedback: This delivers them with a sense of accomplishment. This further serves as the motivation to enter the loop again.
Pro-tip - Allow the users to choose the levels and rewards they want. No one likes to be forced to do anything. By allowing users to select their progress, you give them a sense of control.

3. Use a Suitable Approach

Choose a suitable technique that outlines the entire purpose of your app. Use the technique that adds value to the user journey. For example, a leaderboard is not the appropriate element for workplace software. The employee may not necessarily motivate the users to compete with each other.

Also, allowing them to set smaller goals to accomplish weekly or monthly goals can serve a purpose here. It makes the bigger goals feasible, boosting the overall workflow productivity and efficiency. If you are a product-centric brand that wants to boost the product usability and adoption you can redeem the customer's favorite products in exchange for the earned rewards. That is what the Starbucks Loyalty program exactly does. It rewards the user for every purchase and redeems the rewards to order their favorite drink or food item.

4. Keep the Competition Alive

Having a considerable competitive environment motivates the users to show active participation in the game regularly. This fosters healthy competitive participation where users have the power over their actions or choices.

By keeping the healthy competition flow, brands can create a gamified mobile app that users keep revisiting regularly. Leveraging streaks, progress levels, or badges can improve progress visibility further encouraging them for a CTA.

5. Reward Customization

The challenge-reward mechanism is a non-negotiable gaming tactic as it influences user behavior and actions. By this, users can transform them into tangible prizes that attract users. The reward could be a redeemable discount coupon, in-game assets like virtual gifts in-game currency, etc.

The reward customization empowered players with a choice to leverage it into a gain that best fits them. Reward customization encourages more users to participate in the game.

6. Value Addition Through Gamification

This is the most underrated yet one of the key steps. It is important to ask what value gamification provides to your users. Does the approach resolve the queries of your users? Do your users need gamification? If gamification doesn't provide users with any value, then they are likely gonna lose interest” in the long run and disengage themselves.

Pro-tip- Use Gaming elements that help the users resolve a problem. Collect feedback from users and add gaming elements that are relevant to create value in the users’ on-app journey.

7. Incorporate Social Elements

Everybody loves an app with a superior social influence. According to psychology, we are naturally drawn towards apps that are highly popular and widely adopted by our friends and family. In a gamification mobile app having an active community allows the users to seamlessly interact and communicate with each other.

Having an active community creates an impactful platform where the user base keeps growing exponentially. Shared goals and challenges create an environment where users can thrive. Furthermore, it helps brands build a solid identity and branding by leveraging their digital presence.

8. Keep it Minimalistic

Incorporating game elements that resonate with the target users is the key. In this way, you don’t burden the users with an overwhelming amount of game features. Gamification is a brainstorming part for the mobile app development company out there. But for end users, it is easy to comprehend the journey with an intuitive user interface.

Mobile App Gamification In Action - Examples of Successful Gamification

Gamification in mobile applications is a strategy that allows brands to gain a competitive edge and an immersive environment to thrive. It is undeniably a solid strategy to incorporate technology, fun, and gaming environment into your existing mobile App. Businesses of all niches have leveraged its potentiality

Gamification In E-Learning

Duolingo brings forth the possibility of transforming traditional education into an e-learning gamified app to make learning more fun and less monotonous. Thanks to apps like Duolingo, it makes learning an easy and fun job. Find out more.

Duolingo is one of the most active language platforms in the e-learning market. The app incorporates multiple features that allow them to keep a tab on their progress in gaining linguistic skills. A few of its innovative gamification features include

In-app gaming currency
Social Interactive environment
Healthy competitive environment
Leaderboards and scoreboards

Gamification in the Finance Sector

Accomplish your daily financial tasks and plan your budget in an exciting and fun way. Gaming in the finance sector brings forth the possibilities of planning your finances, but this time in a strategic yet engaging way.

SmartyPig

SmartyPig allows users to plan their finances and save in a fun, engaging gaming environment. Smarty Pig, asks the users to set their personalized financial goals. They allow users to set goals by mentioning the amount that they want to save.

The gamification elements in Smartpig motivate the users to save the money to reach the desired goal. Be it recurring money or manual deposits, it empowers users to chase their financial goals by providing valuable tools

Gamification in the Beauty Industry

One of the most popular brands L'oreal has incorporated AR/VR gamification into your mobile apps. By adding virtual try-ons and reward programs they reward users for every purchase that they make.

Sephora

Whether it is to promote your product or enhance sales, gamification apps like Sephora boost sales revenue and elevate the digital identity. Beauty and cosmetics apps like Sephora recently came up with a beauty Insider Loyalty program. This gamification strategy creates awareness about the latest product launches and the new exciting offers that are currently running for both online and offline stores.

The loyal management program rewards the users for showing their continued loyalty and engagement to the brand. This is in the form of discounts coupons and other monetary benefits to their loyal customers.

Gamification in the Food Industry

McD’s marketing strategy of integrating a monopoly gaming app for its target users proved to be highly monetary for them. The gamification in the MCD app has expanded its overall market presence. One of the primary reasons behind this is they rewarded customers with loyalty points for showing their consistent and continued involvement in the brand.

Gamify

Gamification brings forth an element of excitement that makes the user journey more enjoyable. Having said that, we'll leave you with a final opinion. The key is to incorporate simple and minimal elements without going overboard with them. The users shouldn't be burdened with a lot of elements that they don’t want to interact with. By doing this, you strike a balance between technology, art, and fun.

Making gamifying “A Subtle Art”! By doing so you create an app that feels more like a part of an app and you can celery see its effect on the outcome. Gamify your mobile app by hiring a reputable and top mobile app development company that can ease your gamification journey.