Best Examples of Mobile Apps Using Gamification to Increase Engagement

Reasons Why Gamification is Important for Mobile Apps

Gamification in mobile apps is like adding a little spark to keep the fire burning. 

When apps introduce gamification elements like points, badges, or challenges, they’re not just making things more fun, they're giving users a reason to keep coming back. It’s the same way a game keeps you hooked: you just have to reach the next level or beat the high score. 

Consider the success of Duolingo, Fitbit, or Starbucks. These apps didn’t just become popular because they work, they became addictive because they made the app experience rewarding. And once users start racking up points or unlocking unexpected rewards, they’re invested. What’s next? They keep using the app, and it becomes part of their daily routine. Gamification techniques don’t just engage users, they make them stay.

Benefits of Gamified Mobile Applications

Before you decide to start adding game elements to your app, let’s have a look at how mobile app gamification can benefit your business and boost customer engagement.

Engaging users through fun challenges, scoreboards, and virtual rewards not only keeps them coming back but also boosts your retention rates.

A Few Steps to Gamify Your Mobile App

So, what can you do to ensure successful mobile app gamification?

Here are four simple tips from us:

#1 Foster Competition and Community
Research shows that social factors can significantly boost motivation. By building engaging communities within your app, you tap into users’ competitive nature and their desire for social connection. Incorporating features like challenges, points, and leaderboards can help foster an active, interactive user base that thrives on friendly competition.

#2 Show Clear Progress
Use achievements, progress bars, and leveling systems to keep users hooked. Streaks are another effective way to visually represent a user’s ongoing progress and encourage them to stay committed.

#3 Incentivize Engagement.
To lower user churn, offer app rewards like points, badges, and prizes that users can redeem. Studies show that earning badges can have a notably positive impact, leading to increased user engagement and loyalty.

#4 Make Success Obvious
A simple touch, like a digital confetti animation, can powerfully reinforce a user’s achievement. Immediate positive feedback like this strengthens the impact of basic rewards and makes wins feel even more satisfying.

Examples of Mobile Apps Using Gamification in Different Industries

Finally, who uses apps with gamification?

Now, let’s have a look at app gamification examples that may serve as inspiration for adding rewarding experience to your product.

Gamification in Healthcare Apps

# Fitbit

Mango Health took a similar approach but aimed it at a different challenge, managing medications and health habits. They gamified the experience by giving users points and rewards for sticking to their medication schedules and making healthy choices. The gamified app even offered real-life rewards like gift cards for consistently hitting health goals.

For Mango Health, the results were just as impressive. Users reported higher adherence to their medication schedules, which is a huge win in healthcare. By making the process feel less like a tedious routine and more like a rewarding game, Mango Health was able to help people stay on track with their health in a fun, engaging way.

# Omnicare

Back in 2013, Omnicare decided to gamify their customer service because they were facing a pretty common problem: their support team was getting burned out, and customer satisfaction was starting to drop. The job of handling customer issues day in and day out can get monotonous, and the team was losing motivation. This was showing up in slower response times and less enthusiasm in their social interactions with customers.

They realized that something needed to change, so they looked for a way to make the work more engaging and rewarding. Instead of just the usual customer service approach, they turned it into a bit of a game. They created a system where their support team members could earn points, badges, and even compete on leaderboards based on how well they handled customer issues.

For example, if a rep resolved a tricky problem quickly, they'd score more points. If they got positive feedback from a customer, they’d earn a badge. It wasn’t just about getting stuff done, it was about doing it well and having fun with it. Employees got a chance to win gift cards, extra time off, and even team outings for top performers.

As a result, productivity in their customer service team jumped by around 25%, which meant they were handling more tickets faster and with greater accuracy. Customer satisfaction scores also saw a boost, increasing by about 10% within a few months of implementing the gamification system.

Gamification in Finance Apps

# Qapital

A personal finance app, Qapital took a cue from gamified learning platforms like Duolingo. They turned saving money into a fun and rewarding experience by introducing financial goals and rules that users can set up to automate their savings. For example, you can create a rule to save $5 every time you skip a coffee or round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and save the change.

But what really makes Qapital stand out is how they motivate users to keep going. They use progress tracking bars, visual milestones, and even social features where users can join savings challenges with friends. It’s like a game where each goal is a level to beat, and reaching that goal gives you a real sense of accomplishment.

# Credit Karma

Credit Karma took the sometimes daunting task of managing credit and made it way more engaging through gamification applications. They offer users a free credit score that updates regularly, but they’ve also added gamified elements like credit score simulations and credit goals. Users can play around with different scenarios, like paying off a debt or opening a new credit card, and see how it might impact their score, almost like trying different gamification strategies in a video game.

Credit Karma also introduced badges that app users can earn for hitting certain milestones, such as improving their score by a certain number of points or maintaining a good credit score for several months. These badges add a fun, rewarding element to what is usually a pretty dry topic.

Gamification in Retail

# Sephora

Sephora has created a super-engaged community of loyal shoppers who keep coming back not just for the products, but for the fun of earning and spending points. The company introduced gamification through their Beauty Insider program, where customers can earn points for every dollar spent. These points can be redeemed for exclusive products, samples, and experiences. 

The Beauty Insider program has millions of members, and those who participate tend to spend more than the average customer because they’re motivated by the rewards and the sense of progress within the program.

Sephora added quizzes and mini-challenges for users, like the Color IQ quiz that helps you find your perfect foundation match.

# IKEA

One cool example is their IKEA Place app, which uses augmented reality to turn furniture shopping into interactive customer experiences. Users can place virtual furniture in their real-world spaces using their phone's camera, making it feel like a game where you’re designing your dream home. It’s not just about buying furniture, it’s about experimenting with different styles and layouts, and seeing how everything fits together in your space.

Another example is IKEA’s in-store scavenger hunts. They’ve run campaigns where customers can participate in treasure hunts within the store, finding hidden items to win discounts or special prizes. 

This turns a simple shopping trip into a fun adventure, encouraging people to explore the store and discover more products.

# Starbucks

Starbucks is one of the most famous examples of gamified applications in retail. Their Starbucks rewards app has turned a standard loyalty program into a highly engaging and fun experience.

At the core of the Starbucks rewards program is the concept of earning stars. For every purchase, members earn stars, which they can accumulate and redeem for free drinks, food, or other items. The app displays your star balance prominently, encouraging you to keep making purchases to reach the next reward level.

The program features different membership levels, each offering increasingly attractive rewards. As users earn more stars, they move up from the green level to the gold level, which unlocks even better perks. This tiered system adds a sense of progression and achievement, much like leveling up in a game.

The app also provides personalized offers based on your buying habits. For example, if you frequently order lattes, you might receive a challenge to earn bonus stars when you purchase a certain number of lattes in a week. This personalization makes the gamified experience feel more tailored and relevant to each user

Closing Notes

Gamification applications serve as a great tool to increase engagement, add fun to corporate training, and improve employee productivity. What’s more, a lot of companies have found that introducing gamification in apps results in higher revenue.

The best thing is that you can tailor gamification to your use case and then it becomes greatly powerful.