Gamification Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Gamification Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The global gamification market is expected to register a CAGR of 26.5% over the forecast period (2022-2027). The exponential growth in the number of smartphones and mobile devices has directly created a vast base for the gamification market. The increasing recognition of gamification systems also supports this growth as a method to architecture human behavior to induce innovation, productivity, or engagement.

Key Highlights

• The growing penetration of smartphones has vastly expanded the opportunities for gamification. The shift of both consumers and employees from desktops to mobile phones/ internet devices offers a lucrative platform for banks to capture consumer interest, with a more substantial chance of conversion/ usage.
• Further, gamification systems have also extended beyond their traditional scope of marketing, as they are extensively used in advanced applications like crowdsourcing. For instance, Tomnod, a digital initiative, used high-definition images taken by Digital Globe satellites to pinpoint objects and places in the aftermath of natural disasters.
• Furthermore, the integration with social networking platforms has allowed users to share their experiences with friends, acquaintances, and co-workers, thus, increasing the reach and effectiveness of this platform. Another advantage is that mobile apps enable brands to issue surveys, even as short as a single question, allowing them to gather firsthand data from their target audience members and tailor their efforts accordingly. For instance, a recent MIT study showed that agile organizations have faster revenue growth and generate 30% higher profits than non-agile organizations.
• A study on the utilization of gamification in companies observed that it is usually done in the most generic ways. They use point systems, leaderboards, and badges in any process without creating thoughtful experiences that balance competition and collaboration. This negligence in creating the meaning of this approach is anticipated to result in 80% of the efforts in companies that have employed them.
• Additionally, the adoption of advanced technologies such as AI and ML are expected to gain traction over the coming years, with a focus from the vendors and enterprises to develop solutions that learn and become more intuitive and effective over time; vendor investment in the technology is expected to increase over the coming years.
• Since the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown have affected many industries, the gaming industry has witnessed a global surge in mobile game demand. During the recent nationwide lockdowns imposed across the countries, smartphone users downloaded many games and other apps. For instance, according to App Annie, in February 2020, more than 222 million downloads were made in China through Apple's online store.

Key Market TrendsThe Retail Segment Holds the Largest Share in the Market

• The retail industry is an emerging industry, growing at a significant rate. Retail sales growth has been increasing steadily over the past few years, at a healthy pace, as customers seek experiences and products that reflect the personal brand they promote on social media. For instance, according to the data from US Census Bureau, the total retail sales in the United States increased from USD 4728.12 billion in 2015 to USD 6594.81 billion in 2021.
• While gamification can add entertainment and drama to a retailer’s marketing or engagement strategy without diverting the core idea of the business, it can also provide positive behaviors from customers and employees, leading to a rich brand experience and higher sales.
• As an HBR article points out, gamification also helps in customer retention and increases customer retention rates by 5%, increases profits by 25% to 95%, and can fetch better business results. Brands can provide scannable codes on the products, and on scanning the code, the customer can avail of a certain number of loyalty points. From driving discovery and engagement to building brand advocacy and loyalty, experiential retailing retailers adopt gamification techniques as part of the customer shopping journey.
• Retail gamification is an e-commerce trend that is growing at a tremendous pace. Online retailers will want to continue creating interactive customer experiences to drive higher sales in their stores. Gamification apps have proven to improve leads and sales for several retailers. Gamification can also drive new and recurring customers to a store while offering insights into how shoppers engage with a brand.
• By using innovative forms of gamification, retailers are finding they are better placed to engage with consumers, build brand loyalty and enhance the overall retail experience. Unsurprisingly, Gen Z is mainly involved with this mechanic. According to Tapjoy, 77% of Gen Z’s play mobile games daily. As grocery retailers are keen to build loyalty with this and other segments of the population, it is essential to deploy the right strategy to deliver outstanding results.
• Retailers and brands further benefit from gamification solutions when these include progress charts on what they’ve achieved through the platform. This could consist of key metrics for users with details on past purchases, friend referrals, and updates on new product categories of interest. Providing a balance of ‘wins’ or ‘rewards’ can further engage an audience and drive commercial benefits. This approach can incentivize customers and keep them coming for more when deployed well.

North America is Anticipated to Hold the Largest Market Share

• North America has a mature market for gamification in the field of marketing. However, systems are also finding varied applications in product development and innovation in the region. The high penetration of internet and smartphone users in the region has also led to the greater usage of gamification for marketing, especially using social media integration tools.
• Further, these systems are designed to interact with the consumer base and market the interaction simultaneously. This region is projected to witness the highest incorporation of gamification systems in enterprise-level solutions and a shift toward more technologically advanced methods in the case of consumer involvement systems.
• Since the beginning of the gamification industry, various companies introduced major gamification projects. These include consumer brands such as Adobe, NBC, Walgreens, eBay, Panera, and Threadless, among others. For B2B companies, such as Oracle, Cisco, and Salesforce, gamification has emerged as a key element in their consumerization of the enterprise strategy in the region.
• In addition, these organizations are attracted by gamification’s ability to raise engagement and loyalty, measured in time, on-site, repeat visits, and viral distribution by an average of 30%. Apart from engagement, gamification’s revenue effects are also impressive. American multinational software company, Autodesk raised its trial usage by 40% and conversion rates by 15% while Extraco Bank raised its customer acquisitions by 700%.
• Further, with the exponential growth, global companies are expanding their presence in the North American market to cater to the growing demand. For instance, in August 2022, Sports gaming technology company Low6 entered into a partnership agreement with gaming consultancy SCCG Management. The investment and management firm will help source and facilitate North American-based sports betting operators looking to leverage Low6's technology to acquire new users.

Competitive Landscape

The gamification market is moderately competitive and consists of several major players. In terms of market share, few significant players currently dominate the market. These major players, with a prominent share in the market, are focusing on expanding their customer base across foreign countries. These companies leverage strategic collaborative initiatives to increase their market share and profitability.

• September 2022 - Bragg Gaming Group has expanded its successful gamification and player engagement product Fuze to now be available on sportsbooks. This will offer operators a new way to enhance customer experience.
• June 2022 - Tech giant Microsoft announced making its Edge browser more gamer-friendly as it adds new Xbox and PC gaming performance feature to the web browser. Apart from a new gaming-focused homepage and casual games integration, the web browser is also getting a Clarity Boost to improve Xbox Cloud Gaming streams and an efficiency mode to prevent Edge from taking PC resources when a game is being played reports The Verge. The new efficiency mode is the most exciting addition for PC gamers.

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