Our member points system is an in app gamification is a mechanism for rewarding users for their actions and involvement within an app. Points are often assigned to specific actions such as completing tasks, performing transactions, or reaching milestones. These points can then be used to unlock rewards such as a free trial of premium features.
As the lead designer on this project the objective was to increase user retention and loyalty through the points system.
Points rewards system does not increase retention or sales through the app
While it is difficult to ascertain a specific percentage of revenue that comes from in-app gamification in financial tech, as it varies widely and is dependent on many factors such as the size of the company, the target audience, and the specific gamification strategies used.
THE GOAL
How do we redesign this to have more impact on the business?
90%
higher retention rate compared to users who do not engage with gamified applications
RESEARCH
What do members understand from & how do they capitalise on the points system today?
Lagos, Nigeria 🇳🇬
Confusion around how to redeem existing points:
Members want to understand how they can use their assimilated points throughout the app.
Members don't often check their points balance:
Finding points an afterthought, most member didn’t check their balance frequently and are unaware of the perks owed.
Confusion around the rewards they receive:
Comprehension around when and how the rewards are applied is low.
Takes too long to level up:
With some levels having up to 25,000 points to collect, members ended up lacking motivation to engage.
Proposed Solution
Introduce daily quests into gamification
As part of taking an active approach to redeeming points, daily quests is an already existing solution that has proved to encourage daily use of apps and foster habit formation. To integrate this with points system can lead to long-term usage.
Reduce target ranges
With more realistic and achievable targets to level up it allows members to focus on a smaller and more manageable set of goals. When you have too wide a range, it can be overwhelming, difficult to prioritise, decrease motivation and reduce the chances of completion.
PRINCIPLES
Design Principles
Educate We need to ensure that we educate members on the options and perks they can take advantage of, in order for them to make informed decisions.
Simple and Intuitive We aim to reduce the cognitive load on the user, making it easier for them to achieve their goals and complete tasks more efficiently.
Consistency It is also important to maintain consistent language, navigation, visual design and interaction patterns throughout the product.
Empathy The entire process should prioritise empathy towards our members by understanding their needs, wants, and limitations - providing a satisfying experience.
USER JOURNEY
Points Journey
The entry point for points starts from a post notification where the member learns they get rewards for completing quests (actions on the Prospa app). Throughout the journey, we educate members on quests, premium and bring awareness towards their points level. We also provide an option to upgrade plan after the member understands the perks of premium.
The key strategy behind this is to encourage them to return to the app, if they would rather not complete quests they can opt to upgrade to get perks. In turn, there is an increase in either retention or revenue from a business perspective.
As an alternative to the proposed solution, we considered leaderboards. While leaderboards can increase user engagement, they pose significant drawbacks such as privacy concerns - as some users may not be comfortable with their financial information being made public on a leaderboard, which can leading to concerns about privacy and trust in the app.
Another concern was the social comparison for the nature of the platform seemed futile with limited usefulness as leaderboards may not provide useful information for all users, especially for those who are not interested in competition
