How to Gamify Online Business: A Case Study Based on “SMART” Model

Abstract

With the explosive development of online information, attracting people to participate in online business activities has become a practical challenge which is needed to be solved. Gamification is one of the effective ways to solve this problem. However, there is still a lack of systematic understanding and effective use of gamification due to the diversity of gamification features. More importantly, most classification methods for gamification features cannot provide guidance for practices of online business. Designers and managers of online business are facing the challenge of applying gamification features to engage their users. Therefore, in this study, a new model (SMART) has been put forward to categorize gamification features by reviewing the prior literature. Each feature of the SMART Model has been further analyzed based on a case study of a successful gamified online trading platform (Xian-Yu) in China. This study provides a practical reference for the adoption of gamification in online commerce.