Gamifications are an incredible way to increase customer engagement in your loyalty program. Digital marketing campaigns have proven over and over again that if done right, gamifications can significantly improve results. Now it’s time to boost your loyalty program too by incorporating a playful gamification. You may be inspired by these great examples of loyalty gamification that we collected. 

Nectar: scratch and win

One of the simplest yet effective ways to gamify your loyalty program  can be a more engaging way to earn points. Nectar, the largest UK loyalty card scheme, has used its mobile app to generate higher user engagement. On top of collecting points for every purchase at a partner venue, Nectar users are also prompted via push notifications to “Scratch and win”. This intriguing feature digitally simulates the excitement of a physical scratch. In Nectar’s scratch cards, users can simply win extra points for their purchases.

Why does it work so well? Not only does the activity replicate a familiar joy of innocent small-scale gambling, it also offers additional value. It’s a simple yet effective way to make customers get more bang out of their buck and give them a “winner” feeling at the same time. Not to mention, such experiences create a psychological relationship between the loyalty program user and the brand, leading to higher retention rates.

Strava: competitions and leadership boards

Strava, the social network and fitness tracking app for runners and cyclists, has grown significantly in the past year. This is not surprising considering it does a great job engaging its users, connecting them together and encouraging repeat use.

More importantly, gamification has helped to create the success of this venture. Not only does Strava create a sort of social media for fitness aficionados, it also encourages competition among its users. Runners and cyclists can earn badges and score on leadership boards based on local common circuits. Such competitive nature of the app feature sits well with the target audience and prompts users to beat their as well as others’ score. This increases use frequency and helps to grow the user base.

To make things even more interesting, Strava also hosts ad hoc special challenges and competitions, such as the below in which users enter for a chance to win if they run or cycle for 500 mins in total. The reward system remains the same – users get better value rewards for being an active member. The benefit of promoting frequency of use lies within product competitiveness. Making a member use the app or the program often enough will create a barrier for switching to an alternative brand. 

Duolingo: points, lives and rewards

Duolingo, the mobile language learning app, took gamification to the next level. For Duolingo, gamification lies at the heart of their product offering. The app uses lives, rewards, collectables, points and much more. Importantly however, they use them in a clever, business-savvy way.

As Duolingo works on a freemium business model, they designed all their gamification elements in a way to encourage users to upgrade. For instance, a free user only gets 5 hearts (lives) each day. This limits the language learner’s ability to use the app unrestrictedly when they make mistakes (and lose lives). On the other hand, users are encouraged to upgrade to a paid Duolingo Plus version, in which there is no such restriction in place.

This is a brilliant example of how to use loyalty gamification to drive specific actions and reach for a specific business goal. When designing your gamified loyalty program, remember what you are trying to achieve and make sure that the mechanics work in your favour.