Community financial institutions are constantly seeking effective strategies to deepen digital engagement, drive retention, and promote financial wellness for a diverse customer base. Implementing gamification—interactive elements like badges, progress tracking, and personalized financial guidance—has proven to be a powerful method for achieving these goals.
This case study explores how gamification not only increases user engagement but also positively impacts a broad spectrum of demographics, from retirees to younger, tech-savvy customers. Leveraging data from Finotta’s Personified Platform, the findings reveal a substantial boost in retention, app usage, and financial feature adoption.
Explain the challenge or opportunity in front of the customer before they did business with you. This could be either a reactive reason (i.e. the customer had an issue that needed to be addressed) or a proactive reason (i.e. there was untapped potential that was unleashed by working with your business, product, or service).
The Challenge: Engaging a Diverse Customer Base
Before gamification, the financial institution experienced challenges common across all customer segments:
• Retention Concerns: Retaining existing users was a priority, as customer acquisition can cost 5 to 25 times more than retention efforts.
• Limited Engagement: Users were not consistently exploring high-value financial features or returning to the app multiple times per month.
• Diverse User Needs: The customer base ranged from retirees to young professionals, requiring personalized engagement strategies for different life stages and financial goals.
To address these concerns, the institution introduced gamification features aimed at improving financial wellness across all user demographics.
The Solution: Gamification Tailored for All Users
The institution, powered by Finotta’s Personified Platform, implemented gamification features that appealed to a wide range of age groups and financial personas. These features included:
• Achievement Badges: Encouraging users to reach financial milestones, such as consistent savings and financial goal completion.
• Personalized Financial Guidance: Custom recommendations based on each user’s financial behavior and life stage.
• Progress Tracking: Visual indicators showing progress in financial health, motivating continued engagement.
The Results: Positive Engagement Across All Generations and Demographics
The gamification rollout led to significant engagement improvements across all user segments and financial behaviors:
Increased Retention & Engagement
• 41% Increase in Deposit Account Retention: Gamification encouraged users to stay actively engaged with their financial institution.
• 13x More Time Spent In-App Than Industry Average: Users spent significantly more time exploring financial tools and resources, averaging 13 minutes per session—far exceeding standard industry benchmarks.
• 35% Increase in Average Accounts per Customer: Users engaged more deeply with multiple financial products, expanding their relationship with the institution.
Generational Engagement: Appealing Across All Ages
Gamification proved effective in engaging customers of all age groups:
• 37% of Users Aged 35-49: The largest demographic, showing strong engagement with features tailored to financial milestones and account expansion.
• 23% of Users Aged 50-65: Retirees and pre-retirees benefited from progress tracking and personalized financial wellness tools, encouraging ongoing participation.
• 17% of Users Aged 19-30: Younger users were drawn to the interactive, goal-oriented features, especially personalized savings badges and gamified educational content.
Diverse Financial Personas Benefiting from Gamification
The data highlights how gamification positively impacted users from various life stages and financial backgrounds:
• 16.4% Retirees in Old Homes: Gamification encouraged continued app engagement through progress tracking and goal-setting tools tailored to wealth management.
• 12.7% Singles and Starting Families: Personalized savings challenges and interactive budgeting tools resonated with younger users starting their financial journeys.
• 8.1% Single-Parent Households in Urban Environments: Time-saving, engaging financial tools made it easier for busy users to manage daily finances.
• 10.7% Lower Middle-Class Families with Young Children: Family-focused financial milestones encouraged positive financial habits for long-term stability.
• 7.5% Middle-Aged Families in Blue Collar Jobs: Financial health levels and badges helped encourage consistent savings and credit management habits.
• 7.0% Wealthy, Well-Invested Customers: Personalized recommendations for wealth-building strategies and goal-setting features kept high-net-worth users engaged.
Key Takeaways: Why Gamification Works Across Demographics
The success of this gamification initiative can be attributed to its ability to meet the needs of all users:
1. Retention Across Life Stages: A 41% increase in deposit retention highlights how gamification encourages long-term engagement regardless of age or financial stage.
2. Deeper Engagement Across Age Groups: The 13x increase in app session duration demonstrates how interactive features can hold user attention across generations.
3. Broad Appeal: Data shows that both older and younger demographics responded positively to gamification strategies, from progress tracking for retirees to goal-oriented challenges for younger users.
4. Improved Financial Outcomes: The 54% increase in users following personalized financial guidance proves gamification effectively drives positive financial behaviors across all segments.
Conclusion: Gamification as a Universal Strategy for Growth
This case study clearly demonstrates that gamification, when personalized and thoughtfully implemented, can drive engagement, retention, and financial wellness across all generations and demographics. By integrating features like badges, personalized guidance, and progress tracking, the financial institution not only enhanced its digital channel performance but also built deeper, more meaningful relationships with its customers.
For community financial institutions looking to remain competitive in a diverse market, gamification offers a proven, scalable solution to increase retention, deepen engagement, and promote positive financial behaviors—empowering users of all backgrounds to achieve financial success.
