In an era where customers are bombarded with choices and offers, minimarkets face a recurring challenge: how to retain existing shoppers and attract new ones. While vouchers and discounts remain a powerful tool, the way they’re delivered can make or break their impact.
“Sometimes, the way customers receive vouchers or discounts can be boring and unexciting, which can lead to reduced participation and satisfaction.”
🎯 The Objectives
- ✅ Increase customer participation and engagement by providing a more enjoyable and interactive way to claim vouchers
- ✅ Strengthen brand loyalty by offering a unique and entertaining experience
These goals laid the foundation for a gamified microsite experience that would go far beyond static coupon drops.
🔍 UX Research: Knowing Who We’re Playing With
Our UX discovery phase started by identifying key user segments:
- 👩👧 Mothers and homemakers
- 👩🛍️ Wives with high shopping loyalty
- 🎯 Prize-hunters seeking quick wins
What they wanted:
- Engaging Gamification (40%): Creating bite-sized interactive experiences
- Quick Gameplay (35%): Designing games that could be completed within minutes
- Revisit Value (daily/weekly) (15%): Implementing features that encourage return visits
- Shareability (10%): Adding social components to amplify reach
This directly influenced our design priorities: fast, fun, repeatable, and socially shareable.
🧠 Game Design Meets Business Strategy
To keep users coming back and ensure the experience never feels repetitive, we designed five different mini-games, and implemented a system that delivers a random game to each user per session.
🎲 Random Game Assignment
Every time users visit the microsite, they’re presented with a different game. This unpredictability sparks curiosity (“What will I get today?”) and encourages repeat visits.
🎮 Game Highlights
Match at least 3 identical grocery items (like milk, fruit, or detergent) in a fast-paced match-3 style game. Each successful match scores points, and players have 30 seconds to hit the target score. Reach 500+ points in 30 seconds and unlock instant vouchers!
In this quick seek-and-find game, players are challenged to locate hidden grocery products scattered across a busy minimarket scene. Players tap the items as they find them within the time limit and get a voucher!
A multiplayer game where two players compete to guess the accurate price of displayed products. This game cleverly improved price awareness while creating social connections between customers.
🔁 Beyond Acquisition: Retention-Driven Design
Understanding that acquisition is only the beginning, we implemented two key retention strategies:
- ✅ Daily & Weekly Check-ins
Users can return regularly to unlock perks — bonus vouchers, sneak peeks at upcoming promos, and more. The reward escalates with streaks, driving long-term habit formation. - ✅ Randomized Gameplay
Each visit offers a different game experience, ensuring users stay intrigued and engaged. No two sessions are the same — making the platform feel fresh every time.
✨ Conclusion
We didn’t just gamify the voucher page — we reimagined it as a habit-forming customer touchpoint.
By combining behavioral UX, lighthearted UI, and powerful game loops, we turned a static promotion site into a living ecosystem of micro-engagements.
It’s not just about giving a discount anymore.
It’s about giving people a reason to come back.
