Gamification: A Way to Increase Customer Base Value?

Gamification represents an attractive opportunity for companies to engage customers in online communities and social media pages that can also affect the value that a customer can generate for a firm, and, ultimately its revenues. This research examines this problem by investigating whether or not gamification strategies can affect value generating consumer behaviors. We found that gamification effectiveness depends on the particular mechanics that characterize this strategy (e.g. referrals, social sharing activities, etc.). For example, activities that motivate customers to share contents online significantly increase both amount spent per purchase occasion and frequency of purchases. By contrast, incentives to write referrals or to subscribe to the company newsletter are effective in shortening the inter-purchase time. However, adding products to wishlists significantly reduce both euros spent per purchase and frequency of purchases. Companies, therefore, should wisely evaluate the design of a gamification strategy if they want to generate incremental revenues.