How We Boosted Double‑11 User Engagement with a Gamified Experience Design

Background

During the annual Double‑11 shopping festival, the T‑level interactive game was launched as a user‑flow conversion hub. The core business goal was to increase user activity, measured by cumulative participation UV. By breaking down secondary objectives, the experience design team focused on key user flow nodes to optimize experience and expand traffic throughput.

The game’s short‑term (over 20 days) and large‑scale (billion‑level traffic) nature required clear instructions, sustained playability, and multiple gameplay options to boost user activity.

Game Experience Exploration

2.1 How to Play

After confirming the "time‑travel" theme, the core game loop was defined to link goals, resources, and actions, focusing on the main user behavior chain. A clear path reduces user comprehension cost and prevents drop‑off.

The interactive gameplay uses a single‑thread model: users complete tasks to earn coins, spend coins on draws to collect works from different dynasties, and receive bonuses as the game progresses, culminating in a 20‑billion‑yuan prize on Double‑11.

From a usability perspective, the page layout is divided into three vertical sections: header mindset area, interactive game area, and core operation area, providing consistent goals, actions, resources, and feedback to ensure a smooth onboarding experience.

2.2 Continuous Play

Beyond the initial tutorial, sustained engagement relies on feedback loops. Providing status feedback helps users understand progress, while cash red‑packet incentives and positive content feedback drive ongoing participation and retention.

The nurturing system delivers high‑frequency feedback and reinforces white‑hat motivations, enhancing activity and stickiness. The system consists of a character component and a scene component.

"A" Character System

The character "Dengxi" appears across multiple promotions, providing both thematic fun and functional feedback. Design goals include interactive mindset construction, business enablement, and application expansion.

The character conveys the story’s era, location, and emotional tone, guiding users through a time‑travel narrative that collects works across dynasties.

Business impact: click‑through rate of the character increased by 17.9% compared with the previous promotion, and per‑user self‑replication clicks rose by 32.6%, boosting overall user activity.

"B" Scene System

Four stage scenes (childhood, Tang, Song, Qing) are unlocked progressively, providing continuous playable space and maintaining user depth.

Within each scene, users can draw to collect new works; higher‑rarity items receive special presentation, creating peak experiences and enhancing the sense of discovery.

User Growth Segmentation

To reach the full user base during Double‑11, peripheral gameplay modes (battle, challenge) were added to satisfy diverse user needs and increase coverage.

3.1 Improving Overall Retention

First‑time user experience (FTUE) was redesigned into three steps: convey world view and benefits, link main actions to short‑term goals, and provide positive feedback upon goal completion. This streamlined onboarding raised retention by 37.2%.

3.2 Peripheral Play for Multiple Drivers

The core loop offers stable rewards for newcomers, while side activities such as sign‑in, mini‑games, and lotteries increase stickiness and viral growth. The 21‑day sign‑in system splits the ultimate goal into four stages, raising achievement feeling and driving daily revisits.

Leveraging the "Dengxi" IP and Chinese‑style art, differentiated sharing content was created to encourage user‑generated promotion, further increasing cumulative UV.

Conclusion

From a gamified experience design perspective, the three key takeaways are:

How to Play : Reduce user comprehension barriers through clear goals and behavior flow.

Continuous Play : Provide ongoing feedback and nurturing systems to enhance retention.

Layered Play : Combine business metrics with user segmentation to expand coverage.

By refining interactive mechanics and segment‑based experience optimization, user participation, brand mindshare, and business metrics were significantly improved, demonstrating ample room for further gamification in e‑commerce.