Feeding virtual fish for money: This is how Temu uses gamification to retain Swiss customers

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If you browse the shopping app Temu, it won’t be long before a wheel appears promising big winnings. Once you spin it you will have a coupon worth 100 francs. However, you need to provide your mobile phone number. Otherwise, the coupon will disappear again.

This is just one of many examples of Chinese shopping app Temu using gamification. Users can also raise fish in Fischland or run a digital farm using farmland to receive regular credits from the online store. The more often you feed the fish, the more rewards you will get. Games only work in the app. Shoppers at China’s fast fashion giant Shein can also collect loyalty points by playing games. All of these are not yet available in this country.

Sales of 350 million francs

Partly thanks to these games, Temu quickly gained a foothold in Switzerland. There is also a lot of advertising on social media and the prices are very affordable. Management consultant Carpathia estimates that Temu will reach 350 million sales in Switzerland alone in 2023. Experts estimate that one to two million Temu packages arrive in Europe every day, and the trend is increasing.

“Fundamentally, gamification is about appealing to the customer’s inner child,” explains Roy Bernheim (35). He is the co-founder of Decommerce; The company helps web stores with gamification. He sees decisive advantages for companies: Their customers pay lower costs for consumer acquisition, have three times higher customer loyalty, and have two and a half times longer stays per visitor.

Data from the US shows that Temu customers spend more time on the app than other shopping apps. Christoph Tripp (49), professor of distribution and retail logistics at Nuremberg University of Technology (D), explains that the gamification strategy is clearly aimed at impulse purchases. “When you need something specific, you open the Amazon app. “You open the Temu app without knowing what you’re going to buy,” says Tripp, because Temu meets basic human needs such as communication, curiosity and reward.

Attention customers!

Gamification may also have disadvantages for customers. “This can lead to sensory overload or impulsive purchasing decisions due to limited-time offers,” Tripp continues.

However, the scam is also successful in Switzerland: “Temu and Shein are not typical shopping apps or pure social media apps, but a combination of both,” says the professor.

Bernhard Egger (57), managing director of the trade association, has never seen a development like Temu’s: “Temu focuses on the Swiss market with great attention to detail. “For an Asian platform to be so interested in a market of nine million people is a completely new dimension for me.”

But online stores in China aren’t the only ones using gamification. Language learning application Duolingo also relies on this, just like Migros and Coop; for example passionflower.

Source :Blick