CASE STUDY

Gamified Loyalty Ecosystem
for a Supermarket Chain

Krasny Yar

Krasny Yar, a large supermarket chain, needed a new way to increase retention and deepen engagement within its loyalty program. Traditional discounts and promotional mechanics had reached their limit in driving meaningful user activity. We were brought in to design a gamified system that would turn routine reward interactions into continuous user engagement.

Interactive city map of Krasnoyarsk — isometric game locations among clouds

OBJECTIVE

Design a system that would directly impact
user behavior and business KPIs

  • Increase loyalty program engagement
  • Drive higher app retention and return frequency
  • Stimulate repeat purchases
  • Strengthen brand affinity
  • Provide measurable behavioral analytics

The core goal was to connect game mechanics with real purchase behavior and tangible value for the customer.

SOLUTION

From lightweight MVP to a unified gamification ecosystem

  1. 01

    MVP Launch

    We started with a lightweight MVP — three mobile games integrated into the existing loyalty infrastructure. Users completed simple game loops, earned rewards, and converted them into real-world coupons and in-store bonuses.

  2. 02

    Rapid Expansion

    The strong early traction led to rapid product expansion. The system evolved from standalone games into a unified gamification ecosystem, anchored by an interactive city map of Krasnoyarsk.

  3. 03

    Ecosystem Integration

    Each location became a hub for mini-games, challenges, and reward-driven interactions. Over time, gamification became fully embedded into the loyalty program's data layer, enabling continuous tracking of behavioral impact and campaign effectiveness.

WHAT WE DELIVERED

From games to a full behavioral system

  • Initial launch of mobile gamified experiences

  • Evolution into a unified gamification ecosystem

  • Deep integration with loyalty program infrastructure

  • Reward and coupon distribution engine

  • Interactive city map with location-based engagement loops

  • Scalable mini-games and campaign mechanics

  • Long-term progression and retention system

  • Analytics layer for behavioral and marketing impact tracking

GAME EXAMPLES

Three games, one loyalty ecosystem

Each game was designed around specific engagement mechanics and integrated into the loyalty program

  • Christmas Memory Match — card pairs board

    Christmas Memory Match

    A holiday-themed card game where players find and clear matching pairs from the board.

  • Swipe-to-Shop — Tinder-style product cards

    Swipe-to-Shop

    A Tinder-style shopping game where players swipe right on products they like and left on those they don't.

  • Hamster Run — endless runner in a supermarket

    Hamster Run

    A 3-lane endless runner where a hamster switches lanes and jumps over obstacles on a treadmill.

Numbers speak louder than words

Business Impact

To measure the impact of the gamification system, we compared key engagement and purchasing metrics before and after implementation in the Krasny Yar mobile app.

+18–25%

increase in purchase frequency

Driven by challenges, rewards, and progress-based mechanics

+12–20%

increase in average order value

As users added more items to unlock rewards and reach higher bonus levels

+30–40%

increase in app activity

Through daily and weekly engagement loops powered by progression and reward systems

+15–22%

improvement in user retention

Enabled by recurring game scenarios and personalized missions (30/60-day retention)

SIGNIFICANT

reduced churn among active users

By building repeat engagement habits through gamification

The results demonstrate that gamification influenced more than short-term engagement. By creating meaningful incentives and repeat interaction patterns, it transformed repeat purchases into lasting user habits and strengthened long-term customer loyalty.

RESULT

Gamification as a structural layer
of the customer experience

Gamification became a structural layer of the customer experience, not a standalone campaign.

User behavior shifted from passive participation in promotions to continuous engagement driven by gameplay and rewards.

Game mechanics directly influenced purchase frequency and customer retention, becoming a measurable driver of business performance.

Krasny Yar gained a controllable behavioral system embedded in its loyalty program economics — turning gamification into a scalable growth tool for engagement, retention, and repeat sales.

Purchase frequency

Directly influenced by game mechanics

Customer retention

Measurable driver of performance

Loyalty program economics

Scalable growth tool embedded in the system

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