Gamification involves using game design elements in non-game contexts. It is an emerging strategy that is able to motivate consumer engagement with shopping applications and has been increasingly used by companies in marketing activities. This conceptual paper looks at how using gamified elements—like games and rewards during the first use of an app—can help encourage new users to try out, explore, and eventually adopt the app. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the paper suggests that the use of gamification can make users feel that the app is both useful and easy to use. These feelings then lead to a stronger intention to use the app and increase the chances of long-term adoption. The paper brings together research on gamification, onboarding techniques, and TAM to build a clear framework that explains how gamified features affect user behaviour. It also explains key game-like elements and the psychology behind them, showing how they can make the first-time user experience more fun and easier. In addition, the paper looks at existing research evidence and discusses some of the practical and ethical issues that come with designing gamified onboarding. These insights can help app developers, designers, and researchers improve how they attract and keep new users.
Ahlawat et al. (2026) studied this question.