New year, new resolutions, and also new gamification trends you can’t lose.
With engagement and retention rates dwindling due to the pandemic and consumer attention span taking a downhill trend, gamification is posing as a timely antidote to these cases. So let´s see what 2022 has for us in terms of gamification.
Gamification Trend 1: Market growth
The global gamification market will continue to grow around 30.7 USD Billion by 2025. In 2020 the global gamification market value was 9.1 USD Billion, therefore we’ll have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.4%.
North America will continue to account for the largest share of the global gamification market, although the gamification market in Europe will also develop significantly within the forecast period.
Africa shall see the fastest growth rate, with gamification in the region forecasted to expand by 60.1% starting in 2022.
So, as you can see the gamification market is increasing very fast and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
Gamification Trend 2: Gamification in Mobile Apps & Social Media
Keeping new entrants engaged is more and more difficult these days, actually, according to recent studies, nearly 71% of millennials feel disengaged at work. To address this challenge small businesses are integrating gamification with mobile apps and social media to increase the engagement of young employees. They are doing this through gamification features, such as leaderboards and specific techniques to engage their audience.
Today, many companies are gamifying their social media initiatives to boost brand engagement and trust. Big companies, such as LinkedIn or Waze have integrated game elements into their social media strategies.
Studies have proven the positive impact of gamification on social media. Websites with gamification experiences increase 29% in site actions. Gamification increases commenting by 13%, increase social sharing by 22%, and lastly, gamification amplifies content discovery, increasing activity feed engagement by 68%.
Gamification Trend 3: Gamification will drive corporate & Sustainability campaigns
According to Boston Consulting Group, 95% of people are now more concerned with environmental issues, indeed, consumers nowadays demand sustainable brands and this trend will only increase in the coming years. Based on the same study more than 90% of business leaders consider sustainability to be one of the key drivers for their company’s success.
Several companies have already started their path into gamification to increase awareness of their sustainability campaigns. For instance, Toyota is using gamification to encourage its customers to become more energy-efficient.
Another example is Recyclebank, a New York-based company on a mission to encourage recycling and good environmental habits. It rewards members for participating in everyday green actions. Users earn Recyclebank Points which they can then exchange for deals and discounts at local businesses.
We have another example very well-known in Portugal. Cascais city council is using gamification to change their citizens’ behaviours. Through their smartphones, citizens can earn points for recycling or using public transport, and then exchange points for vouchers or tickets to events.
With the global sustainability market set to grow at a CAGR of 26.6% until 2025, we can only expect more companies to create gamified green solutions in the future.
Gamification Trend 4: Gamification will support well-being & Fitness Programmes
Mental health was, for sure, the topic of everyone’s mind last year, with the pandemic. Therefore, companies are turning to gamification to boost the well-being of their employees and customers.
One popular example is Nike Run Club, the gamified fitness app. This app allows users to interact with each other by sharing fitness statistics and provides challenges and rewards to keep their audience engaged and motivated regularly.
Another example is the banking giant Citibank. They understood very early the importance of physical exercise and the wellbeing of its employees, so they use rewards to encourage their employees to become more active.
Gamification Trend 5: Gamification holding hands with Immersive Technologies
In 2022 gamification will give a step forward to a new level of accessibility and interactivity with the use of Immersive Technologies: AR Artificial Intelligence, VR Virtual Reality, and MR Mixed Reality.
Some companies are using this interaction between gamification and immersive technologies to conduct onboarding and training activities. In the retail space, for instance, Walmart implemented Artificial Intelligence to improve the shopping experience for their customers.
In the next few years, we will continue to see these technologies improving and becoming more important to the relationship with customers and employees, and gamification is and will be a powerful tool for that, for sure.
Remember, new year, new resolutions, and also new gamification trends!
