Gamification Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, And Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The global gamification market was valued at USD 10.19 million in 2020 and expected to reach USD 38.42 million by 2026 and grow at a CAGR of 25.10% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). The exponential growth in the number of smartphones and mobile devices has directly created a vast base for the gamification market. This growth is also supported by the increasing recognition of gamification systems as a method to architecture human behavior, in order to induce innovation, productivity, or engagement. The use of gamification systems has also extended beyond its traditional scope of marketing. As now, they are extensively used in advance applications, like crowdsourcing.

• The growing penetration of smartphones has vastly expanded the opportunities for gamification. Americans are known to check their phones 80 times a day, on an average. The shift of both consumers and employees from desktop to mobile phones/ internet devices offers a lucrative platform for banks to capture consumer interest, with a stronger chance of conversion/ usage.

• Furthermore, the integration with social networking platforms has allowed users to share their experiences with friends, acquaintances, and co-workers, thus, increasing the reach and effectiveness of this platform. Another advantage is that mobile apps enable brands to issue surveys, even as short as a single question, allowing them to gather firsthand data from their target audience members and tailor their efforts accordingly.

• A study on the utilization of gamification in companies observed that it is usually done in the most generic of ways. They use point systems, leaderboards, and badges onto any process, without creating thoughtful experiences that balance competition and collaboration. This negligence of creating the meaning of this approach is anticipated to result in 80% of the efforts in companies that have employed them.

• Another issue with this approach is that it incentivizes winning over other objectives. For training and corporate learning, employees who know how to ace a test, but don’t necessarily know what they’ve been taught, are not wanted. Working in a corporate environment has traditionally been a relationship of exchanging time and effort for money, and this naturally leads to a lack of motivation in the long term, especially for millennials, who want to be engaged in meaningful work.

• Thus, there is a growing need to design thoughtful programs, which some companies have failed to consider before taking up this approach. Thus, while gamification has the potential to revolutionize the entire process of recruiting, onboarding, corporate leadership training, and HR compliance, the game design is crucial for achieving the best results.

Key Market Trends

The Retail Segment Holds the Largest Share in the Market

The retail industry is an emerging industry, growing at a significant rate. Retail sales growth has been increasing steadily since 2012, at a healthy pace, as customers seek experiences and products that reflect the personal brand they promote on social media.

While gamification can add entertainment and drama to a retailer’s marketing or engagement strategy, without diverting the core idea of the business, it can also provide positive behaviors from customers and employees, leading to a rich brand experience and higher sales.

Retail gamification is an e-commerce trend that is growing at a tremendous pace. Online retailers will want to continue creating interactive experiences for customers to drive higher sales growth in their stores. Gamification apps have proven to improve leads and sales for several retailers. Gamification can also drive new and recurring customers to a store, while offering insights into how shoppers engage with a brand.

North America is Expected to Have Highest Market Share

North America has a mature market for gamification in the field of marketing. However, systems are also finding varied applications in product development and innovation in the region. The high penetration of internet and smartphone users in the region has also led to the greater usage of gamification for marketing, especially by using social media integration tools. These systems are designed to interact with the consumer base and market the interaction at the same time. This region is projected to witness the highest incorporation of gamification systems in enterprise-level solutions and a shift toward more technologically advanced methods in the case of consumer involvement systems.

Since the beginning of the gamification industry, various companies introduced major gamification projects. These include consumer brands such as Adobe, NBC, Walgreens, eBay, Panera, and Threadless, among others. For B2B companies, such as Oracle, Cisco, and Salesforce, gamification has emerged as a key element in their consumerization of the enterprise strategy.


These organizations are attracted by gamification’s ability to raise engagement and loyalty, measured in time, on-site, repeat visits, and viral distribution by an average of 30%. Apart from engagement, gamification’s revenue effects are also impressive. American multinational software company, Autodesk raised its trial usage by 40% and conversion rates by 15% while Extraco Bank raised its customer acquisitions by 700%.


Moreover, companies such as LivingSocial, have replaced the dreaded annual review with a mobile, gamified solution, with over 90% of employees participating voluntarily. Other organizations, including Target, have improved employee throughput and satisfaction while reducing costs through the direct use of gamification.

North America has a mature market for gamification in the field of marketing. However, systems are also finding varied applications in product development and innovation in the region. The high penetration of internet and smartphone users in the region has also led to the greater usage of gamification for marketing, especially by using social media integration tools. These systems are designed to interact with the consumer base and market the interaction at the same time. This region is projected to witness the highest incorporation of gamification systems in enterprise-level solutions and a shift toward more technologically advanced methods in the case of consumer involvement systems.

Since the beginning of the gamification industry, various companies introduced major gamification projects. These include consumer brands such as Adobe, NBC, Walgreens, eBay, Panera, and Threadless, among others. For B2B companies, such as Oracle, Cisco, and Salesforce, gamification has emerged as a key element in their consumerization of the enterprise strategy.


These organizations are attracted by gamification’s ability to raise engagement and loyalty, measured in time, on-site, repeat visits, and viral distribution by an average of 30%. Apart from engagement, gamification’s revenue effects are also impressive. American multinational software company, Autodesk raised its trial usage by 40% and conversion rates by 15% while Extraco Bank raised its customer acquisitions by 700%.


Moreover, companies such as LivingSocial, have replaced the dreaded annual review with a mobile, gamified solution, with over 90% of employees participating voluntarily. Other organizations, including Target, have improved employee throughput and satisfaction while reducing costs through the direct use of gamification.

Competitive Landscape

The gamification market is moderately competitive and consists of several major players. In terms of market share, few of the major players currently dominate the market. These major players, with a prominent share in the market, are focusing on expanding their customer base across foreign countries. These companies are leveraging on strategic collaborative initiatives to increase their market share and increase their profitability.

- Sep 2020 - Cognizant acquired Tin Roof Software in order to expand Digital Engineering Services .Tin Roof offers software design, development, DevOps, and delivery services for clients increasingly dependent on software for a competitive edge.
- Apr 2020 - Axonify Inc strategically partnered with AVEVA, a global leader in engineering and industrial software, to offer an adaptive AI- microlearningpowered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of AVEVA Unified Learning. This strategic partnership with Axonify makes AVEVA the first leading digitalization company to deliver microlearningsolutions for industrial operations staff.

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