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Designing Reward Systems in Mobile Apps: Lessons from the iGaming Industry

If you want to make a successful mobile app in the modern age, it requires a built-in reward system. The App Store is packed full of choice for users, so they need a great reason to choose yours.

One of the best places to see rewards in play is the iGaming market, and app developers can learn a lot from this bustling sector.

What are Some of the Right Reward Systems?

If you’ve ever played at an online casino before, you’ll know that they come with bonuses to get players interested. In fact, many players will search through the ideal no-deposit casino bonuses when choosing where to play. This usually comes in the form of free playing money or free spins to use on slot games, and they act as a great way for casinos to stand out.

However, it’s the methods that online casinos use to retain players that app developers will be most interested in, as there’s a lot to learn from these. For example, many of the top sites will offer a daily bonus in the form of a spinning wheel. Players get a chance to spin it every day, and this can sometimes result in free playing money or free spins.

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Online casinos also have reward schemes that aim to encourage repeat play. Players who return to the site to play games and win prizes can climb up the VIP ladder for the chance to earn better rewards. These are all concepts that app developers should seek to integrate, as they are excellent for improving retention rates.

How do Reward Systems Enhance Retention?

It may seem obvious that these reward systems enhance retention, but how exactly does it work? There are various factors in play here, such as the fact that they offer players a sense of progress. With milestones in place on VIP ladders, people can feel a sense of accomplishment as they tick them off and move to the next stage.

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There are various ways that you can make sure your app stands out from the crowd as well, such as by offering specially named rewards. You could do tiered rewards using levels, and name these after the theme of your app. If, for instance, in an e-commerce app, customers could start out as a “Newbie Shopper” and work their way up to “Professional Item Selecter” by completing various tasks.

Surprise rewards are also worth exploring, as these have been proven to appeal to customers. There’s been a lot of research into the power of random rewards, with B.F Skinner’s intermittent reinforcement studies up there with the most famous experiments on the topic.

If you want to implement some of these effective reward schemes in your own apps, you need to make sure they align with your business goals as much as possible. For example, a fitness app could reward people on the number of steps they’ve taken. Make sure the rewards aren’t too generous, either, as customers may feel like it diminishes the overall value of your product.