Premium special: Gamification of Chinese consumer tech

View Chinese tech world from a set of starting conditions: rules of the game that then affect actions of the players.  In China, these were having mobile as the default installation base, a rich heritage of free-to-play (F2P) developers and a large time-rich but cash-poor population who want to consume entertainment.

Gamification features open up new dimensions for an app:1. Retention: owning the user through owning their time. If the app aims to maintain and increase user’s attention real-estate, mini-games encourages frequent app check-ins, increases usage frequency, DAUs and improves retention.  The one KPI that Chinese super-apps all adhere to is the f... See more

4. User segmentation: you segment users into high capacity versus low capacity to spend by getting them to self-select by seeing who’s willing to trade time for coupons.Users reveal their preferences around time, capacity, and willingness to pay, allowing more accurate targeting. Mini-games and their real-world rewards in the form of coupons or red... See more

Every Chinese super-app has a mini-game tucked away in its offering.  Gamification features like player status ranking and luck-of-the-draw mechanisms pervades the tech UX.

Being mobile-first means user is more attentive as an app is a more immersive experience than a browser.  There’s also a rough cut-off for the number of apps any sane person can have on their phone. - On average, Chinese users open 26 apps a month.- About 75% of their time is spent in the ecosystems of Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, Bytedance and Ku... See more

3. Monetization: potential for advertising inventory - being asked to play a game of spin the wheel and then told that your prize is a 30% discount off tooth whitening is enticing.

2. Acquisition: cooperative games with inherent social interactions are the perfect vehicle for getting new users. Getting that one avid super-promoter user who can bring on an entire friend group is ideal and was the rock virality fuel that propelled Pinduoduo to growth at its inception.Games often have in-build ceilings several levels in where pl... See more