In the last few years, gamification has proven to be an effective strategy to improve people’s motivation and performance. Making behavioral changes with gamification is the next big thing for apps.

Whenever we decide to make some sort of change — whether it be in our health, day-to-day routines, or even how we approach the internet — certain variables may stand in our way and prevent us from achieving what we want. Gamification motivates, nudges, and triggers sustainable behavioral change in users. 

With the increased usage of gamification in companies and websites, users have started exhibiting different behavioral responses. This can be attributed to the age-old “play” response deeply embedded into human DNA. This blog entails how you can leverage gamification to trigger behavioral changes in users and subsequently improve the rate of conversion for your digital products.

Gamification and Behavioral Economics

Behavioral economics applies insights from psychology to understand how people make real-life economic decisions.

In doing so, behavioral economists have identified numerous strategies to counter sub-optimal decision-making. Consequently, we can actively shape our digital products or offerings by understanding how behavioral economics principles affect our users’ behavior.

Video games are designed to motivate user behavior, and whether knowingly or not, insights from behavioral economics are related to many of these features. For example, many games provide conditional rewards (e.g., points and prizes) that risk being lost if gamers do not frequently return to play. This plays on the well-known tendencies of people to avoid losses (loss aversion) and to irrationally value things they hold over something they do not have (endowment effect).

Psychological principles are the foundation upon which any successful gaming initiatives are built. Effective game design takes into account the desired outcome of the intervention. It focuses on the behavior and motivation of the individual player in the context of the decision-making environment. 

Gamification is the act of changing human behavior by making activities more enjoyable and more game-like.

While gamification is a broad term, the fundamental principle is to take design elements from games to influence choices and behaviors.

Using Gamification to Trigger Behavioral Changes

First of all, why gamify something?  The primary purpose of gamification lies in engaging and leading the consumer and not so much in dictating their action. Essentially, it leverages fun to create motivation, like in addicting video games. As a result, more and more real-life problems are being adapted to game situations where the user is nudged toward a specific path. 

Gamification that uses behavioral economics principles is rapidly gaining popularity. Already, many industries have started to use game elements that leverage behavioral science to drive desired customer behaviors. Think of airline loyalty programs that award points and status for miles traveled. Such programs have been proven to engage customers and have a meaningful impact on behaviors.

Different game mechanics allow us to create specific experiences and evoke a particular range of user emotions. Gamification will enable businesses to manipulate human emotions, which means your product has a better chance of success because it elicits user reactions. Think about it from an emphatic user experience perspective. It transforms user interaction with a product into an unforgettable experience full of adventure, fun challenges, and the pleasure of winning.

This is the power that behavioral science gamification allows businesses to harness. 

Conclusion

It’s impossible to resist the power of game-based decision-making and behavioral economics. The insights drawn from psychology make it possible to trigger real and powerful behavioral changes in users. Given the enthusiasm with which new ideas are being generated in this domain, gamification is soon bound to become a more familiar term when thinking about triggering behavioral changes in users. 

How can Upshot.ai help?

Upshot.ai is an omnichannel, user engagement, and gamification platform that helps digital product owners and marketers improve product adoption and conversions.

With Upshot.ai, banks and FinTech firms can enhance their digital experiences with pre-built gamification features while providing personalized insights, actionable recommendations, and contextual nudges designed to deepen their relationship with their users.

Book a demo of the most comprehensive user engagement and gamification platform to achieve your digital product goals. Join our communities for more insights, guides, and best practices that keep you updated with proven strategies and tips to supercharge your campaigns.

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