The worldwide gamification market is anticipated to develop from $9.1B in 2020 to $30.7B by 2025, in response to a report by MarketsandMarkets, demonstrating its growing affect throughout varied CPG industries, together with magnificence and private care. As digital engagement turns into a key driver of shopper conduct, magnificence manufacturers are turning to gamification to reinforce model loyalty and gross sales.
We spoke to John Higgins, CEO of OS Studios, who offered his insights on how gamified experiences can drive enterprise development and strengthen shopper relationships on this evolving panorama.
Why gamification appeals to magnificence shoppers
“Make-up and wonder regimens are hands-on by nature,” Higgins started. “At the moment’s advertising and marketing methods favor extremely customized and interactive experiences,” he defined, and the advertising and marketing technique of gamification is an choice for magnificence manufacturers to discover shopper engagement “in a manner that aligns with the hands-on nature of particular person magnificence routines.”
Gamification methods implement gameplay components like competitions, level scoring, and neighborhood constructing. “Buying and gathering private care merchandise generally is a aggressive sport to some, and gamification performs into that,” Higgins mentioned.
For magnificence manufacturers, this might embrace digital try-on purposes or add-ons, customizable routine builders, product assortment launches into social engagement platforms, skincare diagnostic instruments, and reward-based buying incentives to create immersive model experiences that foster stronger buyer retention and differentiation in a aggressive market.
Leveraging rewards and challenges for shopper engagement
Loyalty applications and interactive challenges can drive repeat purchases. “Folks, particularly Gen Z buyers, are pushed by challenges, rewards, and competitors,” he mentioned, and “after they accumulate factors towards future purchases, they construct a long-standing relationship with their favourite model and really feel a way of feat.”
Additional, he defined, “some manufacturers even incentivize social sharing with rewards and VIP bonuses, additional enhancing buyer loyalty and engagement.”
On the B2B facet, he added, cosmetics and private care product producers and suppliers can combine mechanisms like bulk buying incentives or B2B loyalty applications into distribution fashions to reinforce retailer partnerships and improve order volumes.
Profitable gamification methods in magnificence
Main magnificence manufacturers are already leveraging gamification successfully. For instance, as beforehand reported in CosmeticsDesign, e.l.f. Cosmetics has made nice strides within the area by its collaborations with Roblox and the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional.
Higgins additionally famous that main “manufacturers like L’Oréal and Sephora are main the way in which, [and] by integrating totally immersive experiences, social engagement, and rewards, they’re driving large gross sales and creating robust model loyalty.”
L’Oréal’s Make-up Genius app and Magnificence Squad loyalty program reveal how AR and reward-based engagement can convert informal shoppers into loyal prospects. Equally, Sephora’s Beautyfeed fosters community-driven interplay.
“Our latest partnership with Fenty Magnificence and Riot Video games for Arcane Season 2 on Netflix is one other standout instance,” Higgins shared. “By merging magnificence, gaming, and cosplay, this collaboration created an immersive expertise that strengthened model affinity.”
Gamification developments equivalent to Excellent Corp.‘s digital try-ons, Prose’s interactive quizzes, and Laniege’s community-building platforms are additionally gaining traction. “Digital try-on experiences, for instance, have gotten very fashionable as a result of they permit individuals to attempt completely different make-up appears utilizing AR earlier than shopping for a product,” which is “not solely sensible, however enjoyable!” he mentioned.
Measuring gamification success in magnificence advertising and marketing
To evaluate the affect of gamification, manufacturers should observe “success metrics, together with engagement, conversion, and retention charges, [to] assist measure the effectiveness of gamification,” Higgins defined. For instance, he illustrated, “Completion metrics can reveal whether or not customers are interacting with gamified content material totally or dropping off mid-experience.”
For producers and suppliers, these insights provide a roadmap to integrating gamification into product launches, distribution channels, and advertising and marketing methods.
“Conversion charges are additionally necessary. How typically does gamified content material flip right into a sale? What about gross sales funnels? Are they working as meant? These metrics may also help manufacturers decide whether or not their present path is the fitting one,” he clarified.
Future outlook
Over the subsequent decade, magnificence “manufacturers wish to broaden into it to succeed in a wider viewers and additional gamify their content material, [and] developments in expertise and cultural shifts will drive this evolution,” Higgins predicted.
This shift, he defined additional, is prone to be pushed by developments in AI-powered hyper-personalization improvements like “Generative AI, [which] will enable for real-time personalization, resonating with Gen Z and Gen Alpha as they develop into key magnificence shoppers.”
In the meantime, he added that sustainability-focused gamification, equivalent to rewards for eco-friendly purchases, can also be prone to change into a major development.
With gamification changing into a cornerstone of digital advertising and marketing within the magnificence sector, Higgins concluded that producers and suppliers that embrace these methods shall be well-positioned to drive development and buyer loyalty in an more and more interactive market.
