Abstract:
Gamification is a trend of the future that primarily influences consumer
behavior. This, in turn, triggers loyalty via a game-thinking loop. The multifold
application of gamification, however, has remained a buzzword thus far, indicating
an infancy of the game mechanicsto impact consumerloyalty, and thinking patterns.
In this regard, the gamification phenomenon encourages the mental and emotional
engagement of the consumers. This subsequently can predict the magnitude, and the
span of loyalty of the consumers as well. The current work, therefore, intends to
empirically substantiate the impact of gamification on consumer loyalty, via two
possible path-ways, i.e., gamification->hedonic benefits->consumer loyalty, and
gamification->utilitarian benefits->consumer loyalty. Additionally, reward
satisfaction is an aspect that is considered as a contingency variable in specifying the
indirect impact of gamification on consumer loyalty. The sample for this study
comprises of over 240 students from three private universities of Lahore, where data
was collected with respect to the solicitation of gamification in online food
applications. Results are shown to be positive and significant, thus supporting both
the direct and indirect impacts of gamification on consumer loyalty. Moreover, an
interaction term is also significant in ascertaining the positive conditional effects of
reward satisfaction, on the direct path between gamification and consumer loyalty.
The findings of the study provide valuable insight to consider gamification as an
innovatively ambitious online marketing strategy for ensuring consumer loyalty.
