How NFT Gamification Can Impact Customer Experiences in the Retail Industry in 2023 - Retail Info Systems News

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are providing much worth and inferior than arsenic elemental collectibles, and the retail manufacture is taking notice. Retailers are utilizing NFTs and gamification to scope integer natives, physique a loyal lawsuit base, and interaction the lawsuit acquisition successful meaningful ways.

Here are immoderate of the originative concepts they enacted that are paving the mode for NFT gamification successful the retail industry.

NFT Wearables, Virtual Stores, Shopping, and Gaming successful the Metaverse

Retailers person started making “wearable” NFTs and gathering integer outlets for virtual worlds a.k.a. metaverses. Walmart is experimenting with buying successful the metaverse arsenic a bully accidental to get up successful their manufacture and instrumentality power of this increasing marketplace successful the adjacent future. Using metaverses and NFTs to marque integer duplicates of real-world SKUs and establishing stores successful the metaverse, enables retailers to prosecute straight with their customers, arsenic good arsenic heighten and personalize their buying experiences. 

These amusive activities and interactive experiences wrong virtual outlets — much often accessible with the usage of virtual world oregon augmented world devices — are, successful a way, the commencement of the gamification of NFTs. 

From being solely a collectible, NFTs tin besides go a instrumentality to play games with oregon beryllium an in-game driblet oregon reward. Gamifying NFTs offers experiences to customers that would pull them into buying, frankincense enhancing retail sales.

An illustration is Louis Vuitton with their Louis the Game. Through “Vivienne,” players tin embark connected a travel crossed locations to hunt for 200 collectible NFT candles to observe LV’s 200th Birthday, wherever each candle unlocks stories astir the past of Louis Vuitton. The luxury manner retailer created the crippled with attracting younger markets successful mind, and is present expanding the crippled with much levels and NFT raffles arsenic downloads deed much than 2 million. The institution reported higher than expected income owed to its progressive selling efforts tapping into pent up request for goods.

One happening to retrieve is that gaming has evolved to newer and much superior technologies. When looking to gamify with NFTs, it would wage for retailers to absorption connected authenticity and creativity of the content. Whether utilizing NFTs arsenic a mechanics for games, oregon offering them to players arsenic rewards, NFT gamification is simply a caller mode to prosecute and bring excitement to new, aboriginal and existing customers.

Gamification of Loyalty Programs

Retail loyalty programs are besides taking strides done NFT and games. This is what ShiftPixy did erstwhile it applied web, in-app gamification and augmented world (AR) into their NFT Loyalty Program for their nutrient retail business. Holders of Shiftpixy NFTs tin play in-app games to triumph rewards and escaped nutrient items, arsenic good arsenic marque usage of an AR acquisition to bid and presumption a 3D paper that brings each nutrient to beingness with hyper-realistic interactive features.

• Also read: H&M Gamifies Circular Fashion With Metaverse-Like Experience connected Roblox

In the apparel industry, Gap and LookHUMAN besides incorporated gamification elements to amp up their loyalty programs. Gap launched a postulation of NFTs based connected Gap’s signature hoodie designed with creation themes astir positivity and equality. The NFTs travel successful 4 tiers based connected pricing and availability: common, rare, epic, and one-of-a-kind. When acquiring communal and uncommon tokens, holders get the accidental to triumph epic-level NFTs and a carnal Gap x Frank Ape hoodie.

LookHUMAN likewise executed this done launching their t-shirt NFTs called RFTees. RFTees are escaped for each customer’s acquisition of LookHUMAN products. LookHUMAN is trying to connection worth successful presumption of savings and rewards, arsenic RFTees holders tin bask imaginable currency rewards oregon peculiar prizes specified arsenic escaped T-shirts for aboriginal purchases.

By gamifying loyalty programs, these companies are uncovering ways to link and fortify their lawsuit base, springiness them existent worth for their patronage, heighten their lawsuit experience, and perchance pull caller customers from antithetic marketplace segments.

E-commerce and NFTs

Retail ecommerce platforms are besides venturing into NFTs and applying amusive gamification elements successful a bid to excite their customers. E-commerce institution Shopify has precocious partnered with Doodles, a hand-drawn NFT creation collection, to merchandise the pastel-colored NFT creation “from URL to IRL (in existent life)”. They launched an online marketplace website wherever anyone — whether they are NFT holders oregon not — tin acquisition carnal mascot versions of the Doodles NFTs. Token holders tin besides bask exclusive entree to acquisition a constricted variation mascot fig and get promo codes to usage connected Shopify. On apical of that, Shopify besides gave distant 1 Doodles NFT to a fortunate victor who followed Shopify and Doodles Twitter accounts and retweeted their tweets.

E-commerce elephantine eBay allowed the merchantability of NFTs successful 2021 which ushered caller creators, buyers, and sellers successful its level and opened the possibilities for e-commerce to cater to the NFT marketplace and besides go an NFT marketplace. After that bold move, eBay is present releasing their archetypal NFT collection with Sports Illustrated and the National Hockey League (NHL), composed of 13 integer collectibles featuring 3D animated renderings of Gretzky arsenic a integer enactment figure. The collectibles retail astatine $10 for the basal greenish rarity, and scope up to $1,500 for the diamond tier NFTs.

By diving into the satellite of NFTs, Shopify and eBay are exploring innovative ways to springiness much worth to their new, existing and aboriginal markets, which are progressively becoming occupied by the younger GenZ audience.

Currently, retailers with metaverse, NFTs, and gaming operations are mostly the large companies. Small- and medium-sized retailers request to beryllium much progressive successful utilizing NFT and gamification to research caller marketplace groups, physique loyal customers, and thrust engagement, experiences, and sales. As blockchain exertion grows and matures implicit time, much and much companies are taking vantage of the opportunities of this space, indulging the evolving user appetite and trends successful assorted industries successful 2023 and beyond.

—Cory Hymel, Director of Blockchain, Gigster