Game features are even more pervasive in the digital world. In little over a year, the Chinese shopping app Temu has exploded in popularity thanks to its “play to pay” model: as users browse deals they’re presented with puzzles to solve, roulette wheels to spin, and challenges to complete, which reward them with credit and special offers.

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While some of Pinduoduo’s incredible growth could be attributed to WeChat, one of the biggest shifts in Chinese consumer behavior has been from the “search, pay, and leave” model of traditional ecommerce to social commerce. That wasn’t just WeChat. Much of PDD’s recent success has been due to its game-like mechanics.

It's a digital age QVC but with the added FOMO that the other thousand viewers could buy out the stock before you get there. Driven by a fear of counterfeit goods and a demand for experiential retail, viewers love the instant gratification of seeing the product in action then immediately buying it. The backdrop to the buying frenzy is a holistic... See more