Open Access

Louisa Grotkamp

• The concept of contemporary developments in the clothing e-commerce sector with respect to the use of gamification as an instrument to increase customer loyalty in highly competitive times is to be analyzed and assessed in further depth within this bachelor thesis. With the use of game elements in a non-gaming context, the method of gamification is currently being discussed as a universal mean of process optimization. By using the German e-commerce market in the segment of fashion for further references, this paper stresses how gamification may have a positive impact on customer loyalty within the online clothing sector. Within this assessment, it is emphasized that games, which are reportedly gaining prominence, have an increasingly strong influence on individuals when implemented as a gamified application and leading individuals to feel more attached to a brand or company. This leads to the examination of the theoretical motivation observation of gamification, as well as the examination of one’s motivation to play. Various levels of loyalty are discussed and the extent to which customer loyalty plays a more important role to companies than the acquisition of new customers is addressed. With the help of a conducted online survey, further information about people’s receptiveness towards gamified applications and incentives is retrieved and thus delivers proof that gamified applications influence buying behaviour but only if financial incentives are involved. Moreover, it shows that more effort needs to be invested in familiarizing people with gamification before actually realizing applications due to a lack of awareness. Finally, the research findings result in the assessment whether gamified applications can be seen as unnecessary.