Businesses Bring Gamification to Marketing; Game-like Features Bring Boost to Businesses

By Shuntaro Murase / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

14:59 JST, April 18, 2025

More and more companies have started incorporating game elements into their businesses with the aim of stimulating consumption and reaping the other benefits that the process brings.

The process is called “gamification,” a term that originated in the information technology industry during the 2010s. Gamification involves applying game elements and principles to non-gaming contexts to create game-like experiences and trigger the motivations that come with them. Businesses are using gamification to expand product sales and to boost the percentage of repeat customers while also developing new ones. In recent years, gamification is also being used in the education sector to increase learners’ motivation.

In March, Torikizoku Co., which operates a chain of izakaya pubs, launched a campaign to give customers a chance to earn a large number of points once a day by playing an online roulette-like game on its official smartphone app, taking advantage of the second anniversary of the app’s launch.

The points, which can be used in the app, can also be earned by ordering designated products.

The app also has a lottery for which customers can use their points to buy a ticket, with the chance to win discount coupons worth up to ¥10,000. Depending on the number of skewers they have ordered at Torikizoku outlets, users can also “raise” an original Torikizoku character on the app.

The app is said to have been downloaded more than 1 million times.

“Many people enjoy playing the games as well as eating and drinking at our outlets, which is leading to an increase in the number of Torikizoku fans,” said a public relations official from the company.

Customers of Kura Sushi, Inc., a major conveyor-belt sushi restaurant chain operator, have the chance to win a capsule toy in a lottery when they finish five plates of sushi and put them into a slot on their table. The game has led to an increase in customers at the chain.

“Some customers come to the restaurant mainly to play the game,” said a Kura Sushi public relations official.

Businesses are also putting more effort into offering educational games to attract customers in the future.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in January began offering a smartphone game that combines puzzles with quizzes about investment trusts and insurance. Users can earn coins in the puzzles and use them in an asset management simulation. The bank hopes it will encourage people to open accounts and use them to start managing their assets.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said it plans to launch an app in April that allows parents and children to have fun while learning about money and the economy.

Behind the spread of gamification is the expectation that profits and repeat customers will increase if people can enjoy products with game-like features.

The market for gamification is also expanding, propelled by the popularity of smartphones, which are highly compatible with games.

According to Global Information Inc., a market research firm, the global market for gamification and other related features based on corporate spending is estimated to reach about $78.9 billion by 2030, more than five times the about $14.9 billion in 2023.

However, as more people play smartphone games and use apps to watch videos in their spare time, competition for a user’s free time is intensifying. Akito Inoue, an associate professor at Ritsumeikan University who is well versed in gamification, said that gamification can be a means to direct people to specific apps. “Businesses need to take caution, though, as gamification solutions and features can leave consumers with a bad impression,” Inoue said.