Gamification of a customer loyalty platform for a retail business

Location: USA
Industry: Retail
www.spindyapp.com

CakePHP

MySQL

Node.js

AWS

Client & product

Spindy is a US-based company that specializes in customer engagement through gamification. They design marketing strategies for retail businesses that encourage further spending and improve customer retention. Spindy is a novel take on the retail gamification model. Instead of providing instant standardized bonuses and gifts, it gives customers a chance to win cashback up to 100% on any purchase from a participating business. The name Spindy comes from the main action users take — spinning the rewards wheel in the mobile app.

Challenges

Spindy kicked off with infrastructure issues — the bank our client chose for transactions did not have an API. We had to develop an algorithm to generate encrypted files and send them to the bank instead. On the project itself we needed to develop a custom algorithm to balance rewards, so users could win up to 100% cashback while keeping the average reward below a threshold set by the merchant. Finally, the project required a complex process of rewards verification and payouts, which are semi-automated and take up to two weeks.

Job done

Our work was divided into three main parts: the back end, web admin panel for merchants, and admin panel for the super admin. Moreover, we spent a lot of time developing the rewards algorithm and integrating the app with the bank. All system features and algorithms were properly documented by our business analyst to ease change management and onboarding for new project participants.

Implemented features

Gamification

Spindy engages customers better than similar rewards programs since customers can spin the rewards wheel with different amounts of force and get a random result.

Web dashboard for merchants

Participating merchants have access to an online dashboard where they can edit their company listing, set the odds of winning, manage rewards, and monitor payouts.

Weekly payouts

All transactions are grouped during the week and are paid all at once to decrease the overall fees.

Reward settings

Store owners define the budget for each of their stores. Once the budget is depleted, rewards are no longer generated.

Outcomes

Our client received a unique gamification model and an app built to their precise specifications. They have successfully deployed the app and partnered with local small businesses. Compared to similar systems, Spindy offers some unique features:

Higher retention rate. Since the rewards system is gamified, customers are more encouraged to use it and have stronger feelings about the rewards.
Simple integration. Retailers don’t need to adjust their workflow to start using Spindy — they simply need to provide a sample receipt.

Since launch, the app has been installed over 10,000 times from Google Play.

Client’s feedback

Balazs Wellisch

CEO at GameIQ, Inc

With Relevant Software's help, we could create a web portal for our customers that's easy to use, performs well and covers many devices. The portal is very responsive and gives us the combination of usability and power that we were looking for. Relevant Software could adjust to our needs and provide the services that we needed in a way that they became part of our group very quickly. They were dedicated to the project and made sure every stage was made visible to the client.