Companies using games to market their businesses

More and more companies have started incorporating game elements into their businesses with an eye toward boosting consumption and reaping additional benefits the process brings.

The process is called “gamification,” a term that originated in the information technology industry during the 2010s. Gamification involves using game elements in nongaming contexts to create gamelike experiences.

Businesses are using gamification to expand product sales and to boost the percentage of repeat customers while also drawing new ones. In recent years, gamification has also been used in education to increase learners’ motivation.

In March, Torikizoku, which operates a chain of izakaya (pubs), launched a campaign to give customers the chance to earn a large number of points daily by playing an online roulette-like game on its official smartphone app. It pegged the campaign to the second anniversary of the app’s launch.

The points, which can be used in the app, can also be accrued by ordering designated products.

The app also has a lottery, and customers can use their points to buy lottery tickets that offer the chance to win discount coupons worth up to 10,000 yen (about $68.50). Depending on the amount of food they have ordered at Torikizoku outlets, users can also “raise” an original Torikizoku character on the app.

The app is estimated to have been downloaded more than a million times.

“Many people enjoy playing the games as well as eating and drinking at our outlets, which is leading to an increase in the number of Torikizoku fans,” said a company public relations official.

Customers of Kura Sushi, a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant chain, have the chance to win a capsule toy in a lottery when they finish five plates of sushi and put them into a slot at their table. The game has led to an increase in restaurant customers.

“Some customers come to the restaurant mainly to play the game,” said a Kura Sushi public relations official.

Businesses are also focusing on offering educational games to attract future customers.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking began offering a smartphone game in January that combines puzzles with quizzes about investment trusts and insurance. Users can earn coins in the puzzles and use them in an asset management simulation. The bank hopes it will encourage people to open accounts and use them to start managing their assets.

Mizuho Financial Group said it plans to launch an app in April that allows parents and children to have fun while learning about money and the economy.

Behind the spread of gamification is the expectation that profits and repeat customers will increase if people can enjoy products with gamelike features.

The market for gamification is expanding, propelled by the popularity of smartphones, which are highly compatible with games.

According to Global Information, a market research firm, the global market for gamification and other related features is projected to reach about $78.9 billion by 2030, more than five times the approximately $14.9 billion seen in 2023.

Yet as more people play smartphone games and use apps to watch videos, competition for a user’s free time is intensifying. Akito Inoue, an associate professor at Ritsumeikan University, said gamification can be a means to direct people to specific apps.

“Businesses need to take caution, though, as gamification … can leave consumers with a bad experience,” Inoue said.