According to a report by Marketsandmarkets, the global gamer market is expected to increase from $9.1 billion in 2020 to $30.7 billion by 2025, increasing influence in a variety of CPG industries, including beauty and personal care. indicates. As digital engagement becomes a key driver of consumer behavior, beauty brands are turning their eyes to gamification to enhance brand loyalty and sales.
We spoke with John Higgins, CEO of OS Studios. He provided insights into how gaming experiences in this evolving landscape can drive business growth and enhance consumer relations.
Why Gamification appeals to beauty consumers
“Makeup and beauty regimens are practical in nature,” began Higgins. “Today’s marketing strategies support highly personalized and interactive experiences,” he explained, and gamification’s marketing strategies allow beauty brands to “align with the practical nature of their individual beauty routines.” The option to explore consumer engagement in a way.
Gamification techniques implement gameplay elements such as competition, point scoring, and community building. “Shopping and collecting personal care products can be a competitive sport for some people, and gamification affects that,” Higgins said.
For beauty brands, this will create a virtual Tryon application or add-on, customizable routine builder, launching product collections to social engagement platforms, skincare diagnostic tools, and immersive brand experiences that promote more powerful customer retention Includes reward-based purchase incentives to do so. Differentiation in a competitive market.
Utilize rewards and challenges for consumer engagement
Loyalty programs and interactive assignments can be purchased repeatedly. “People, especially Gen Z shoppers, are driven by challenges, rewards and competition,” he said. ”
He further explained: “Some brands encourage social sharing with rewards and VIP bonuses, further enhancing customer loyalty and engagement.”
On the B2B side, cosmetics and personal care product manufacturers and suppliers can integrate mechanisms such as bulk purchase incentives and B2B loyalty programs into distribution models to strengthen retailer partnerships and increase order volumes. I did.
A successful gamification strategy for beauty
Major beauty brands are already making effective use of gamification. For example, as previously reported in CosmeticsDesign, Elf Cosmetics has made great strides in this space through collaborations with Roblox and Apple Vision Pro.
Higgins also said “brands like L’Oreal and Sephora are leading the way.” [and] By integrating fully immersive experiences, social engagement and rewards, they drive large sales and generate strong brand loyalty. ”
The L’Oréal’s Makeup Genius App and Beauty Squad Loyalty Program shows how AR and reward-based engagement transform casual consumers into loyal customers. Similarly, Sephora’s BeautyFeed promotes community-driven interactions.
“The recent partnership with Fenty Beauty and Riot Games for Arcane season 2 on Netflix is another outstanding example,” Higgins shared. “By combining beauty, gaming and cosplay, this collaboration created an immersive experience that enhances the brand’s affinity.”
Gamification trends such as Perfect Corp.’s Virtual Tryon, Prose’s interactive quizzes, and Laniege’s community-building platform have also gained traction. “For example, a virtual tride-on experience is extremely popular because you can try out a variety of makeup looks using AR before purchasing a product. This is not only “practical, but also It’s fun!” he said.
Measure the success of gamification in beauty marketing
To assess the impact of gamification, brands can be “success metrics such as engagement, conversions, retention rates, and more. [to] It helps to measure the effectiveness of gamification,” explained Higgins. For example, he explained: “Completion metrics can reveal whether a user is fully interacting with Gameified content or if they are dropped out mid-experience.”
For manufacturers and suppliers, these insights provide a roadmap for integrating gamification into product launches, distribution channels, and marketing strategies.
“Conversion rates are also important. How often does gaming content turn into sales? What about sales funnels? Are they working as intended? These metrics say that the brand is in the correct path It helps you determine whether it’s a path or not,” he revealed.
Future outlook
Over the next decade, Beauty’s brand is trying to expand to it, reach more viewers and make their content a more gamified version. [and] Advances in technology and cultural change will drive this evolution,” predicted Higgins.
This change further explains, “it is likely to be driven by advances in innovation in hyper-personalization with AI-powered AI-like generative AI. [which] It enables real-time personalization and resonates as Gen Z and Gen Alpha grow into major beauty consumers. ”
Meanwhile, he added that sustainability-focused gamification, such as rewards for environmentally friendly purchases, is likely to be a key trend.
As gamification is the cornerstone of digital marketing in the beauty sector, Higgins is a good idea to help manufacturers and suppliers adopt these strategies to promote growth and customer loyalty in an increasingly interactive market. I concluded that it would be placed.
