Gamification in Mobile Apps: Strategies to Improve User Retention

In today’s digital world, mobile users are flooded with tons of choices when it comes to choosing an application. The rise in usage of mobile apps has made every business jump into this ocean. However, It is not easy for companies to attract new users. Even if they do get them, retaining them is more challenging.

User retention is a make-or-break metric for mobile app developers and businesses. To make it a win-win situation in user retention, businesses are now looking towards a new approach– app gamification. App gamification can make things fun and exciting for users, and help businesses to improve user retention and engagement.

In this blog post, we are going to discuss more about app gamification. We will find out why it is important in mobile apps along with some effective strategies to improve user retention with gamification.

What is Mobile App Gamification?

Mobile app gamification is the concept of adding game-like features to a non-gaming mobile app. It uses elements such as levels, points, leaderboards, and others in non-game contexts. The main idea behind gamification is to keep users engaged in an application for a long time.

The primary objective of gamification in mobile app design is to leverage the internal motivations that drive human behavior, such as the sense of achievement, competition, and social interaction. Gamification is a way to infuse fun and excitement in even simple and basic mobile apps.

Why Mobile App Gamification is Important?

Businesses that use gamification for customer engagement tend to be seven times more profitable than the others. Gamification plays an important role in motivating customers to take action towards your brand. Game-like elements intrigue users to keep coming back to the application to unlock a new level or achieve a new reward.

A gamified mobile application comes with lots of user experience benefits. It increases usefulness, social interaction, and enjoyment for users. When users get a better experience with mobile apps, they like to use them more often. This benefits your business with improved user engagement, retention, and brand loyalty.

Gamification Strategies to Improve User Retention

Gamification in mobile apps can be achieved easily these days. Most businesses are gamifying their apps, but not all of them are capable of retaining users as desired. Doing mobile app gamification the right way is crucial to stand out from the rest. 

So, we have mentioned some effective gamification strategies that you can use to improve user retention;

Points and Reward Systems

Using points and reward systems in mobile apps is a great way to capitalize on the feeling of accomplishment or winning something. Users spend more time on apps when they feel they are progressing towards an achievement. This achievement can be in the form of points that unlock something later or in the form of a direct reward such as a discount voucher, a free product, or a membership offer. When users get rewarded, they usually come back in the quest for more.

Progress Bars and Levels

Incorporating progress bars and levels in your app helps users track their progress toward making an achievement. They offer a clear sense of progression and milestones, motivating users to continue using the app to reach the next level or complete their progress. With each new level, the user’s urge to complete the level quickly will also increase. They will keep using the app more and more to complete the progress bar or unlock the next level.

Missions and Quests

Missions and quests add a challenging factor to the user’s journey in a mobile app. When faced with these challenges, users tend to complete them for a sense of achievement. Missions and quests add a purpose for users to open the application regularly and proceed in a specific direction to complete them. Smaller missions can offer points or can unlock bigger ones that further offer some exciting rewards. Such missions are highly motivating for users and increase the sustained use of an app.

Leaderboards

Leaderboards in mobile apps spark a sense of competitiveness in users. Leaderboards display a user’s ranking based on their performance or activity. Ask users to complete challenges and gain reward points to improve their leaderboard positions. This will motivate users to engage more with the application with a competitive nature to outperform other users. This will directly improve user engagement and retention on the mobile app.

In-app Currency

In-app currency is another effective way to reward your users. Most users feel that in-app currency is more useful than any other form of reward as it can be used as per their wish. Users can earn the in-app currency for specific actions, such as making purchases or leaving reviews. Make your in-app currency redeemable against discounts on future purchases, offering intriguing benefits that promote continued app engagement and motivation to earn more in-app currency.

Quizzes

Quizzes in mobile apps add an element of challenge and knowledge testing. Users can test their knowledge on various topics and earn rewards or recognition for their performance. Short daily quizzes motivate users to come back every day and spend some time on the app. In a shopping or e-commerce app, You can include questions about your products in the quizzes. This will make users explore your offerings and learn more about them to answer the quizzes.

Successful App Gamification Examples

Several companies have already leveraged the power of gamification in mobile apps to get impressive results in user retention. Here are some popular examples of successful app gamification;

Duolingo

Duolingo is a mobile language learning app that gamifies the learning process for its users. The developers of Duolingo incorporated a variety of game design elements to keep the learning process exciting and the users motivated. The app rewards users with points and badges for completing lessons. Duolingo has also added a progress bar for users to track their progress in different languages.

Starbucks

Starbucks uses the gamification concept of in-app currency and points in their mobile app. The Starbucks app rewards you with “stars”, a type of in-app currency or points, whenever you make a certain action on the app. Using the stars you collect, you can unlock cool rewards like a free coffee, a discount coupon, some Starbucks goodies, or many others.

Nike Run Club

Nike Run Club is a fitness app that uses gamification to motivate users for regular exercise and health tracking. The app gives users daily challenges related to specific exercises such as running. Users earn badges and rewards for completing the challenges. Users also get a position on the leaderboard according to their earned badges and can compete with friends on the same as well.

Conclusion

Gamification in mobile apps has a huge potential to improve user retention. All a business needs to know is how to do it the right way. Gamification is not just a trend, it is a considerable choice you can make while developing a mobile application. Several organizations are using it prominently for user retention, so you also can.

The more customers you retain, the larger will be your loyal customer base. This will not only drive better growth for your business but will also give you an unmatched advantage over your competitors. Leverage the power of gamification today to reward your customers and yourself with new achievements!