Does Gamification Increase Purchase Intention? A Systematic Review

Abstract

In recent years, application of gamification methods in e-business activities has become an increasingly common phenomenon. Based on the assumption that gamification can promote purchase intention, the use of gamification design in commercial activities has become more and more common. This study attempts to address some questions that are fundamental yet have not been clearly answered through systematic review, such as (1) whether there is empirical evidence showing that gamification has an impact on purchase intention; (2) whether there is research evidence showing which mediator/moderator variables used by gamification affect purchase intention; and (3) which gamification features are used in existing researches and whether there is empirical evidence showing that they have direct or indirect impacts on purchase intention. The literature search hits 164 results, and 25 articles were finally included in the full paper review. The results show that there is adequate evidence to support the existing hypothesis, which is gamification can influence purchase intention through perceived value. Further details of results and discussion were concluded in the article. Recommendations for future research of gamification and purchase intention in e-business context were provided as well.

Appendix A. Full List of the Reviewed Publications

ID	Full citation
A1	Hamari, Juho, Hanner, N., & Koivisto, J. (2020). “Why pay premium in freemium services?” A study on perceived value, continued use and purchase intentions in free-to-play games. International Journal of Information Management, 51(November 2018), 102040
A2	Hamari, J. (2015). Why do people buy virtual goods? Attitude toward virtual good purchases versus game enjoyment. International Journal of Information Management, 35(3), 299–308
A3	Jimenez, N., San-Martin, S., Camarero, C., & San Jose Cabezudo, R. (2019). What kind of video gamer are you? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 36(1), 218–227
A4	Hsiao, K. L., & Chen, C. C. (2016). What drives in-app purchase intention for mobile games? An examination of perceived values and loyalty. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 16, 18–29
A5	Hamari, J, Malik, A., Koski, J., & Johri, A. (2019). Uses and Gratifications of Pokémon Go: Why do People Play Mobile Location-Based Augmented Reality Games? International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 35(9), 804–819
A6	Chen, H., & Chen, H. (2020). Understanding the relationship between online self-image expression and purchase intention in SNS games: A moderated mediation investigation. Computers in Human Behavior, 112
A7	Catalán, Sara, Martínez, E., & Wallace, E. (2019). The role of flow for mobile advergaming effectiveness. Online Information Review, 43(7), 1228–1244
A8	Catalán, S, Martínez, E., & Wallace, E. (2019). Analysing mobile advergaming effectiveness: the role of flow, game repetition and brand familiarity. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 28(4), 502–514
A9	Wu, S.-L., & Hsu, C.-P. (2018). Role of authenticity in massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs): Determinants of virtual item purchase intention. Journal of Business Research, 92, 242–249
A10	Zhu, D. H., & Chang, Y. P. (2015). Effects of interactions and product information on initial purchase intention in product placement in social games: The moderating role of product familiarity. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 16(1), 22–33
A11	Moirn, R., Léger, P. M., Senecal, S., Roberge, M. C. B., Lefebvre, M., & Fredette, M. (2016). The effect of game tutorial: A comparison between casual and hardcore gamers. CHI PLAY 2016 - Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion, 229–237
A12	Balakrishnan, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). Loyalty towards online games, gaming addiction, and purchase intention towards online mobile in-game features. Computers in Human Behavior, 87(June), 238–246
A13	Kim, C., Costello, F. J., & Lee, K. C. (2020). The Unobserved Heterogeneneous Influence of Gamification and Novelty-Seeking Traits on Consumers’ Repurchase Intention in the Omnichannel Retailing. Frontiers in Psychology, 11
A14	Jin, W., Sun, Y., Wang, N., & Zhang, X. (2017). Why users purchase virtual products in MMORPG? An integrative perspective of social presence and user engagement. Internet Research, 27(2), 408–427
A15	Huang, T., Bao, Z., & Li, Y. (2017). Why do players purchase in mobile social network games? An examination of customer engagement and of uses and gratifications theory. Program, 51(3), 259–277
A16	Huang, E. (2012). Online experiences and virtual goods purchase intention. Internet Research, 22(3), 252–274
A17	Wang, L., Gao, Y., Yan, J., & Qin, J. (2020). From freemium to premium: the roles of consumption values and game affordance. Information Technology and People
A18	Ghazali, E., Mutum, D. S., & Woon, M. Y. (2019). Exploring player behavior and motivations to continue playing Pokémon GO. Information Technology and People, 32(3), 646–667
A19	Hsieh, J.-K., & Tseng, C.-Y. (2018). Exploring social influence on hedonic buying of digital goods - Online games’ virtual items. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 19(2), 164–185
A20	Jang, M., Lee, R., & Yoo, B. (2019). Does fun or freebie increase in-app purchase?: Analyzing effects of enjoyment and item experience intention to purchase mobile game contents. Information Systems and E-Business Management
A21	Chen, H. J., & Sun, T. H. (2014). Clarifying the impact of product scarcity and perceived uniqueness in buyers’ purchase behavior of games of limited-amount version. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 26(2), 232–249
A22	Shelton, J., & Chiliya, N. (2014). Brand endorsements: An exploratory study into the effectiveness of using video game characters as brand endorsers. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(14), 260–275
A23	Bittner, J. V, & Shipper, J. (2014). Motivational effects and age differences of gamification in product advertising. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 31(5), 391–400
A24	Hsiao, K. L., Lytras, M. D., & Chen, C. C. (2019). An in-app purchase framework for location-based AR games: the case of Pokémon Go. Library Hi Tech, 38(3), 638–653
A25	Lee, K. C., & Park, B. W. (2010). A general Bayesian network approach to analyzing online game item values and its influence on consumer satisfaction and purchase intention. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 114 CCIS, 53–62