Gamification in digital marketing for e-commerce: a review of strategies to boost engagement and sales
-
Received date: February 17, 2025
Accepted date: March 6, 2025
Published date: March 11, 2025
https://doi.org/10.14419/bfmn7r29
-
Gamification in Digital Marketing; E-Commerce Strategies; Customer Engagement; Brand Loyalty; Ethical Design in Gamification; and Con-sumer Behavior Analysis. -
Abstract
Gamification has become an innovative and strategic approach within digital marketing, particularly for e-commerce platforms striving to enhance customer engagement, drive sales, and cultivate brand loyalty. Despite its growing adoption, the academic understanding of its mechanisms, implications, and sustainability remains underexplored. This comprehensive review integrates empirical evidence and theoretical perspectives to construct a robust framework for evaluating gamification strategies in e-commerce. The analysis identifies pivotal elements leaderboards, challenges, and incentive structures and their influence on consumer behavior across diverse contexts. Four overarching themes emerge: enhanced consumer loyalty, increased purchase frequency, strengthened brand engagement, and the critical importance of ethical design. Furthermore, the study underscores challenges such as sustaining long-term user commitment and addressing ethical dilemmas related to transparency and manipulation. By offering practical guidelines for implementation and illuminating areas for further inquiry, this research contributes to the scholarly discourse on gamification as a dynamic tool in digital marketing. It establishes a foundation for advancing its application in an ethically responsible and consumer-centric manner.
-
References
- S. H. Haji, A. Al-zebari, A. Sengur, S. Fattah, and N. Mahdi, ‘Document Clustering in the Age of Big Data: Incorporating Semantic In-formation for Improved Results’, Journal of Applied Science and Technology Trends, vol. 4, no. 01, pp. 34–53, Feb. 2023, https://doi.org/10.38094/jastt401143.
- A. Behl, P. Sheorey, A. Pal, A. K. V. Veetil, and S. R. Singh, ‘Gamification in e-commerce: A comprehensive review of literature’, Apr. 01, 2020, IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/JECO.2020040101.
- A. Biloš, ‘UTILIZING GAMIFICATION CONCEPT IN DIGITAL MARKETING: AN OVERVIEW OF RECENT RESEARCH EF-FORTS’.
- V. KARMAZINOVA, ‘Gamification of consumer loyalty programs’, SCIENTIA FRUCTUOSA, vol. 153, no. 1, pp. 70–83, Feb. 2024, https://doi.org/10.31617/1.2024(153)04.
- M. Shamal Salih et al., ‘Diabetic Prediction based on Machine Learning Using PIMA Indian Dataset’, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://internationalpubls.com. https://doi.org/10.52783/cana.v31.1008.
- L. F. Azmi, N. Ahmad, and N. A. Iahad, ‘Gamification Elements in E-commerce - A Review’, in 2021 International Congress of Ad-vanced Technology and Engineering, ICOTEN 2021, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., Jul. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICOTEN52080.2021.9493475.
- T. Krishnaveni and Dr. V. Shanthi, ‘Mobile Marketing Effectiveness On Gamification’, Educational Administration: Theory and Prac-tice, 2024, https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i5.4341.
- Z. M. Khalid, S. R. M. Zeebaree, S. R. M. Zebaree, and A. Author, ‘Big Data Analysis for Data Visualization: A Review Science and Business Journal homepage: ijsab.com/ijsb’.
- W. Sharma, W. M. Lim, S. Kumar, A. Verma, and R. Kumra, Game on! A state-of-the-art overview of doing business with gamifica-tion’, Technol Forecast Soc Change, vol. 198, Jan. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122988.
- N. Mahdi Abdulkareem and S. R. M Zeebaree, ‘OPTIMIZATION OF LOAD BALANCING ALGORITHMS TO DEAL WITH DDOS ATTACKS USING WHALE OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM Kurdistan Region-Iraq’ , 2022. https://doi.org/10.26682/sjuod.2022.25.2.7.
- K. Jacksi, S. R. M. Zeebaree, and N. Dimililer, LOD Explorer: Presenting the Web of Data’, 2018. [Online]. Available: www.ijacsa.thesai.org. https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2018.090107.
- M. R. Mahmood, M. B. Abdulrazzaq, S. R. M. Zeebaree, A. K. Ibrahim, R. R. Zebari, and H. I. Dino, ‘Classification techniques’ per-formance evaluation for facial expression recognition’, Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 1176–1184, 2020, https://doi.org/10.11591/ijeecs.v21.i2.pp1176-1184.
- F. Huseynov, ‘Gamification in E-Commerce’, 2020, pp. 144–161. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-5171-4.ch008.
- B. R. Ibrahim et al., ‘Embedded System for Eye Blink Detection Using Machine Learning Technique’, in 1st Babylon International Conference on Information Technology and Science 2021, BICITS 2021, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2021, pp. 58–62. https://doi.org/10.1109/BICITS51482.2021.9509908.
- N. T. Hewapathirana and S. Caldera, ‘A Conceptual Review on Gamification as a Platform for Brand Engagement in the Marketing Con-text’, Sri Lanka Journal of Marketing, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 41–55, Jul. 2023, https://doi.org/10.4038/sljmuok.v9i1.119.
- Y. S. Jghef et al., ‘Bio-Inspired Dynamic Trust and Congestion-Aware Zone-Based Secured Internet of Drone Things (SIoDT)’, Drones, vol. 6, no. 11, Nov. 2022, https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6110337.
- M. B. Abdulrazaq, M. R. Mahmood, S. R. M. Zeebaree, M. H. Abdulwahab, R. R. Zebari, and A. B. Sallow, ‘An Analytical Appraisal for Supervised Classifiers’ Performance on Facial Expression Recognition Based on Relief-F Feature Selection’, in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, IOP Publishing Ltd, Mar. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1804/1/012055.
- X. Yang, N. Xi, H. Tang, J. Hamari, and M. Management, ‘Association for Information Systems Association for Information Systems AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) AIS Electronic Library (AISeL):00 AM Gamification and Marketing Management: A Literature Review Gamification and Marketing Management: A Literature Review and Future Agenda and Future Agenda Recommended Citation Recom-mended Citation’, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2023/meta_res/meta_res/1.
- R. E. A. Armya, L. M. Abdulrahman, N. M. Abdulkareem, and A. A. Salih, ‘Web-based Efficiency of Distributed Systems and IoT on Functionality of Smart City Applications’, Journal of Smart Internet of Things, vol. 2023, no. 2, pp. 142–161, Dec. 2023, https://doi.org/10.2478/jsiot-2023-0017.
- F. De Canio, M. Fuentes-Blasco, and E. Martinelli, ‘Engaging shoppers through mobile apps: the role of gamification’, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, vol. 49, no. 7, pp. 919–940, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-09-2020-0360.
- M. Aparicio, C. J. Costa, and R. Moises, ‘Gamification and reputation: key determinants of e-commerce usage and repurchase inten-tion’, Heliyon, vol. 7, no. 3, Mar. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06383.
- M. Hajarian and S. Hemmati, ‘A Gamified Word of Mouth Recommendation System for Increasing Customer Purchase’, in Proceeding of 4th International Conference on Smart Cities, Internet of Things and Applications, SCIoT 2020, Institute of Electrical and Electron-ics Engineers Inc., Sep. 2020, pp. 7–11. https://doi.org/10.1109/SCIOT50840.2020.9250209.
- F. Jia and J. Yu, ‘Disentangling e-commerce gamification affordances on recommendation acceptances from a perceived value perspec-tive’, Information Technology and People, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-03-2023-0242.
- N. A. Munawaroh, A. Hermawan, and D. Ambarwati, ‘Unlocking Adoption: Revealing Gamification’s Influence on Indonesian Con-sumer Intentions in E-Commerce’.
- Y. T. Jang and P. S. Hsieh, ‘Understanding consumer behavior in the multimedia context: incorporating gamification in VR-enhanced web system for tourism e-commerce’ , Multimed Tools Appl, vol. 80, no. 19, pp. 29339–29365, Aug. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-021-11149-8.
- Y. Dinh and M. Fogelberg, The Impact of Gamification on User Engagement in a Second-hand E-commerce platform’. [Online]. Avail-able: www.liu.se.
- Y. Liu, T. Alexandrova, and T. Nakajima, ‘Gamifying intelligent environments’, in MM’11 - Proceedings of the 2011 ACM Multimedia Conference and Co-Located Workshops - Ubi-MUI 2011 Workshop, Ubi-MUI’11, 2011, pp. 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1145/2072652.2072655.
- K. Kaarlehto, ‘Gamification in new customer acquisition of a digital marketing service provider’, 2020.
- D. Di et al., ‘UNIVERSITA’ DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA “CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT THROUGH GAMIFICATION MARKETING IN CHINA: A FOCUS ON THE LUXURY MARKET”’.
- I. Diyah and C. Arifah, ‘E-Commerce Gamification: The Effect of gameful Experience (Gamex) and Game Design on The Self-brand Connection’, 2021.
- M. R. Neffati and M. A. M. Sallam, ‘Measurement and analysis of macroeconomic (In)stability in North African countries’, Montene-grin Journal of Economics, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 119–132, 2021, https://doi.org/10.14254/1800-5845/2021.17-2.10.
- T. Sitthipon, P. Limna, P. Jaipong, S. Siripipattanakul, and P. Auttawechasakoon, ‘Gamification Predicting Customers’ Repurchase In-tention Via E-Commerce Platforms Through Mediating Effect of Customer Satisfaction in Thailand’ , 2022.
- C. L. Susilo, K. Kunci, and N. Membeli Kembali, ‘THE EFFECT OF GAMIFICATION TOWARDS REPURCHASE INTENTION IN E-COMMERCE PLATFORM WITH TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT MODEL (TAM) AS A MODERATING VARIABLE’ , [Online]. Available: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-indonesia.
- A. M. Sundjaja, G. Savina, Y. Yuli, and T. Hardianto, ‘The Moderating Effect of Gamification on Loyalty Program Usage in Indonesian E-Commerce’, Binus Business Review, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 19–29, Jan. 2022, https://doi.org/10.21512/bbr.v13i1.6801.
- N. N. Sari, ‘The Use of Technology Acceptance Model to Explain Brand Attitude and Loyalty Intention in E-Commerce: The Gamifica-tion Case’, Asean Marketing Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, Jun. 2022, https://doi.org/10.21002/amj.v14i1.1151.
- Sheetal, R. Tyagi, and G. Singh, ‘Gamification and customer experience in online retail: a qualitative study focusing on ethical perspec-tive’, Asian Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 49–69, Jun. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-022-00162-1.
- D. Tien Minh, L. Vu Lan Oanh, and N. Diem Quynh, ‘How gamification affects online shopping behavior: An approach with young-sters (aged 16–30)’, Cogent Business and Management, vol. 10, no. 3, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2256076.
- J. H. Hermawan and V. Utami Tjhin, ‘THE EFFECT OF GAMIFICATION ON CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN E-COMMERCE’, J Theor Appl Inf Technol, vol. 15, p. 19, 2023, [Online]. Available: www.jatit.org.
- K. A. Kusumawardani, H. A. Widyanto, and J. E. G. Tambunan, ‘The role of gamification, social, hedonic and utilitarian values on e-commerce adoption’, Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 158–177, Aug. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1108/SJME-09-2022-0188.
- C. Rauh, C. Straubert, and U.-B. Eric Sucky, Promoting Sustainable Consumer Behavior in E-commerce: An Empirical Study on the Influence of Gamification on Consumers’ Return Motivation. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/10125/106942.
- M. Sharifi Hashjin, F. Asayesh, and A. A. Sharif, ‘the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License. Structuring a Gamification Model in Digital Marketing Using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM)’, 2024.
- E. Ebrahimi, H. R. Irani, M. Abbasi, and A. Abedini, ‘The effect of gamification on brand equity and desirable consumer behaviors in online retail stores: The mediating role of brand engagement’, Interdisciplinary Journal of Management Studies, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 379–391, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.22059/ijms.2023.352786.675544.
- O. Semenda, Y. Sokolova, O. Korovina, O. Bratko, and I. Polishchuk, ‘Using Social Media Analysis to Improve E-commerce Market-ing Strategies’, International Review of Management and Marketing, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 61–71, Jul. 2024, https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.16196.
-
Downloads
-
How to Cite
Saber Rashid, N. ., & R. M. Zeebaree , S. . (2025). Gamification in digital marketing for e-commerce: a review of strategies to boost engagement and sales. International Journal of Scientific World, 11(1), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.14419/bfmn7r29Received date: February 17, 2025
Accepted date: March 6, 2025
Published date: March 11, 2025