The Consequences of Gamification in Mobile Commerce Platform Applications

Introduction

Living in an increasingly advancing dematerialized world, where technology plays an ever more significant role, has led to a growing dependency on advanced technological systems in various aspects of our lives (Deveci et al., 2022; Gupta & Panda, 2022). This trend encompasses diverse sectors and industries, ranging from communication and commerce to healthcare and education (Singh et al., 2022). The rapid development and widespread adoption of digital technologies have reshaped the way we interact, work, and engage with the world around us (Singh et al., 2022).

In recent years, the use of emerging interactive technologies and digital platforms can enhance the shopping experience, improve consumer loyalty, and increase retailers’ profitability (Siregar & Kent, 2019). Shopping intentions are determined by a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic motivations (Van der Heijden, 2004; Syed et al., 2021; Meena & Sarabhai, 2023). However, retailers’ traditional strategies based on pricing and product innovation are no longer adequate (Insley & Nunan, 2014). To optimize the customer experience, retailers need to incorporate engaging methods. Gamification has been identified as an effective approach for creating memorable customer experiences and eliciting positive game-like experiences (Naqvi et al., 2021; Kusumawardani et al., 2023). As a result, more and more companies are turning to gamification as a marketing strategy. Gamification has become a significant research topic, as it has been shown to drive user engagement, enjoyment, and retention in user-platform interaction (Hofacker et al., 2016, García-Magro et al., 2023). The incorporation of gamified, ludic, and social elements in mobile apps can reduce consumers’ cognitive effort, which could give retailers a competitive advantage. In 2018, gamification generated an estimated value of $5.5 billion and has the potential for a 600% increase in user downloads for gamified business apps (De Canio et al., 2021).

Despite its potential benefits as a powerful tool for creating an engaging environment with game-like features, the use of gamification in various settings remains understudied (Djhan et al., 2022). Only a few academic studies have explored its application in the service or marketing sectors. Moreover, the existing literature lacks a framework to predict and explain how gamification influences customer experience and repurchase intention (De-Marcos et al., 2014). As such, researchers have emphasized the need to further explore the impact of gamification on customer behavior and experiences with mobile apps (Perannagari & Chakrabarti, 2019).