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New Game-Inspired Tools Create Greater Connections Between Shoppers And Brands

By Alicia Fiorletta, Associate Editor

Gamification is a key strategy for amping-up consumer engagement and brand loyalty. By utilizing incentives such as badges, tokens, coupons and “mayorships,” merchants can encourage shoppers to make purchases, visit stores and play games. Retail TouchPoints published Part I of a four-part series, which spotlights gamification and how best-in-class retailers are leveraging it.

New sites are integrating these gaming strategies with photographs and interactive media in an effort to increase browsing and buying likelihood. With the rise of Pinterest and sites including Instagram, Polyvore and Stylmee, consumers can interact with merchandise more closely, categorize and manage their favorite items, and eventually, complete a purchase. Although I have been an avid fan and frequent participant of foursquare and other check-in applications, these emerging, photo-driven platforms boost the brand experience and truly make retailers top-of-mind. Below are my current favorite “gamified” sites and why I think they’re effective methods of engagement.

A Is For ALDO: In his recent interview with Retail TouchPoints, gamification expert and author Gabe Zichermann noted the retailers that gamify their marketing strategies successfully. One example he provided was ALDO, a shoe retailer that taps into Instagram mood boards to increase shopper engagement. To promote its first foray into the fragrance world, ALDO rolled out an image-focused game that allows players to choose from a series of photographs released via Instagram. Once consumers complete their mood board, they can post them directly into their Facebook timeline. I personally had a blast sifting through user-generated photos and developing my own personal mood board to share with friends and family. Not to mention, by creating and sharing my Kiss-A-Gram mood board, I was automatically entered to win $100, as well as the entire A is for ALDO fragrance collection. If that’s not an effective incentive, I don’t know what is.

Polyvore: For some people, fashion isn’t a game; it’s a lifestyle. In the vast Internet “blog-o-sphere,” fashionistasworldwide spend their days and nights finding new brands, creating chic outfits and taking photographs of their newest concoctions to share with their hoards of followers. Polyvore is a site created for these fashion-crazed consumers. Through the site, visitors can browse and buy inventory from designers such as Alexander McQueen, BCBG Max Azria, Jimmy Choo and Marc Jacobs. However, optimal engagement occurs when browsers create their own outfits through the platform and share the final products with their social graphs. From dresses to handbags to jewelry, Polyvore covers the fashion gamut and successfully creates a game driven by retail goods and brand names. Personally, playing on the site has increased my handbag wish list more than my wallet can handle!

Stylmee: Recently I had the opportunity to interview Basil Farano, Creative Technologist for Fresh Concepts Lab, creator of Stylmee. Stylmee is a new iPad app and e-Commerce site for consumers that keep style top-of-mind. Visitors create their own virtual boutique and “shop inventory,” and win points when other users “Love” a style in their store. All points are redeemable for credits that can go towards items. The site will soon begin to post top boutiques and styles, and will run contests via Facebook and Twitter frequently, such as “Best Designed Boutique,” “Best Store Name” and “Most Points.”

“The fashion industry is working hard to catch up with technology,” Farano said. “Mobile and gamification are going to be the next big steps in fashion. This is where the concept for Stylmee originated. We saw the growth in mobile and traditional social games, and for us it was a matter of seeing the value of gamification and how consumers require some instantaneous rewards.”

As the gamification space continues to develop, it will be exciting to see the new, cutting-edge ways retailers will incentivize shoppers to interact with products and brands. Although many merchants still are trying to determine an optimal strategy, gamification presents a new growth opportunity for companies eager to boost customer loyalty.

Follow Alicia on Twitter: @AliciaFiorletta