Customers love to feel appreciated, they love a good deal and they especially love winning.
In the world of loyalty programs, keeping members engaged is key. That’s why gamification has become a powerful tool for convenience retailers looking to create loyalty experiences that are as fun as they are effective. At Liquid Barcodes, we’ve taken gamification to the next level with a complete overhaul of our game platform, making delivering interactive and rewarding loyalty experiences easier than ever.
Our new game platform, built with Flutter technology—the same foundation that powers our loyalty apps—brings enhanced graphics, sound, and haptic feedback to every game. This upgrade means retailers can offer their customers entertaining games and a seamless, immersive experience that boosts engagement and encourages repeat visits. Here’s what you can expect from our enhanced game platform and why it’s a game-changer for loyalty.
What’s New in the Liquid Barcodes Game Platform?
| 1. | A Rich Visual and Sensory Experience The revamped platform introduces high-quality visuals, sound effects, and haptic feedback, offering an engaging experience that feels fresh and modern. With sound and touch integrated into games, members can enjoy sensory cues as they play, from the satisfying rumble of a “wheel of fortune” spin to celebratory sounds when they win a reward. These new elements make playing games in the loyalty app fun and memorable. |
| 2. | Flexibility to Drive Engagement in Innovative Ways Our platform’s flexibility means retailers can use games creatively within their loyalty program. For instance, a member could spin a digital wheel for a chance to win a discount, free product, or loyalty points. Games can be configured to reward customers based on probability or skill, offering a varied experience that keeps members coming back for more. Furthermore, retailers can tie games directly to other loyalty mechanisms, such as stamp cards or point systems, allowing for a deeper level of interaction. A game could be triggered by redeeming a coupon, or vice versa, creating an ongoing engagement cycle. |
| 3. | Flexibility to Drive Engagement in Innovative Ways Our platform’s flexibility means retailers can use games creatively within their loyalty program. For instance, a member could spin a digital wheel for a chance to win a discount, free product, or loyalty points. Games can be configured to reward customers based on probability or skill, offering a varied experience that keeps members coming back for more. Furthermore, retailers can tie games directly to other loyalty mechanisms, such as stamp cards or points systems, allowing for a deeper level of interaction. A game could be triggered by redeeming a coupon, or vice versa, creating an ongoing engagement cycle. |
| 4. | Customizable Rewards for Enhanced Member Satisfaction Each game offers customizable prizes, allowing members to select what they’d like to play for, whether it’s discounts, free products, points, or stamps. This gives retailers a tailored way to cater to individual preferences, adding an extra layer of personalization to the experience. This flexibility helps ensure that members find value in playing, enhancing loyalty over time. |
Gamified Loyalty Will Help Your Business Grow
In today’s competitive retail environment, personalization is key. The latest games provide businesses with a “brandability” feature, enabling them to transform in-app gaming experiences into branded, immersive encounters. Imagine a virtual “Spin-and-Win” game designed with the iconic red and white of Coca-Cola, or decked out in the bold colors of Monster Energy. For retailers, these games can be fully customized to reflect corporate identity and reinforce brand loyalty. This personalization deepens the brand connection and helps ensure that each gamified loyalty experience feels unique, relevant, and entirely on-brand.
Proof of Value: How Gamified Loyalty Boosts Business Metrics
Beyond the excitement of gaming, the impact of gamification on key business metrics is what makes these games invaluable to retailers. Data from recent campaigns highlights the measurable effects. For example, during game periods like around holidays, app sessions increase by up to 330% for an exponential boost with users returning more frequently to check in on their progress, redeem rewards, or play additional rounds.
Additionally, our customers have reported 2x growth in member recruitment when running game campaigns. Gamified rewards attract new users and also encourage existing customers to refer friends and family, further expanding the brand’s reach.
And, last, retailers see sustained engagement following the end of a game period. App activity levels remain elevated, with session rates as much as two to three times higher than pre-campaign levels for up to four weeks.
Looking Ahead: Transitioning to a New Standard in Gamified Loyalty
In the coming months, we will transition all our games to this new platform, bringing these benefits to our entire suite of gamified experiences. With the Liquid Barcodes enhanced game platform, retailers can look forward to delivering a loyalty experience that doesn’t just reward customers but actively engages and entertains them. By blending game mechanics with seamless reward delivery and sensory feedback, we’re setting a new standard in the loyalty landscape.
For retailers, this upgrade isn’t just about improving gameplay—it’s about creating an engaging loyalty journey that keeps members active and invested. Gamification boosts member retention, increases visit frequency, and ultimately leads to higher basket sizes and gross profit. With the Liquid Barcodes game platform, you’re empowered to build a loyalty experience that’s fun, memorable, and impactful.
A Broad Selection of Games: Probability vs. Skill-Based
Offering a mix of probability and skill-based games means brands can attract a wider range of customers. Probability games—such as instant wins or spins—provide quick gratification, while skill-based games keep customers engaged longer, offering challenges that encourage repeated play. With options ranging from spin-the-wheel games to puzzle challenges, these games offer a balanced mix that keeps users coming back. This diversity of game types means brands can appeal to various customer interests and create a multi-faceted loyalty experience.
The Gamified Loyalty Advantage: Engagement with Impact
Building customer loyalty is no easy feat. Gamification has become a proven strategy for brands seeking to cut through the noise and create meaningful connections. The ability to tailor games to a brand’s unique identity and to leverage game functionality for targeted engagement provides brands with a powerful way to drive app sessions, increase user retention, and ultimately boost in-store and online sales.
With the latest innovations in gamified loyalty programs, brands now have the tools to engage users in ways that are both measurable and memorable. As more retailers adopt these branded, interactive experiences, one thing is clear: gamification isn’t just an enhancement to loyalty programs—it’s a game changer.
About the Flutter Platform
- High-Performance, Native-Like Experiences: Flutter is a powerful development platform from Google that allows us to build visually rich, native-like experiences across mobile devices, making our loyalty apps and games feel smooth and responsive.
- Unified Codebase: With Flutter, we can develop and maintain one codebase for both iOS and Android, ensuring a consistent user experience across all devices while enabling faster updates and optimizations.
- Used by Leading Brands: Flutter powers some of the world’s most popular apps, including Google Pay, Google Earth, and BMW’s My BMW app, bringing the same reliable performance and high standards to our loyalty platform.
About Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes is the leading loyalty platform for convenience retailers. Unlike other solutions, ours has been designed from the ground up to retain member engagement and activity. Every aspect, from the fundamental system architecture to the small details that make our loyalty apps such a joy to use, is crafted to ensure a highly personalized, gamified experience.
Our loyalty programs are so engaging and visually appealing that members remain active over time, making us better than any other solution at retaining your members’ attention. Increased attention, translates into increased impact. Ultimately, these differences will make your loyalty program a more powerful and effective tool, when you work on increasing basket size and visit frequency.
Learn more about Liquid Barcodes at liquidbarcodes.com.
About the Author
Carolyn Schnare, Chief Content Officer, Liquid Barcodes
Carolyn Schnare has been involved with the convenience retailing industry for two decades with extensive knowledge of customer engagement and marketing, sustainability, and community outreach. Before Liquid Barcodes, Schnare worked at NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores) in a variety of roles from event production to membership and most recently as Director of Strategic Initiatives and host and producer of the popular industry podcast, Convenience Matters. Schnare currently anchors the popular Future of Convenience podcast, produced by Global Convenience Store Focus media group.
