- Category:
Gamification, Simulation, Web Application
- Software:
Unity WebGL, C#, React
- Service:
Game Development
- Client:
Consumer Insights Lab
- Date:
April 12, 2023
SmartCart Challenge: Virtual Grocery
The SmartCart Challenge is an interactive 3D simulation that gamifies the grocery shopping experience. It serves as both an educational tool for consumers to learn better budgeting habits and a research platform for brands to understand shopper behavior.
Gamified Learning
By turning a mundane chore into a scored challenge, we increase user engagement and retention, making financial literacy and nutritional education fun and accessible.
Challenge & Solution
The Challenge: Understanding consumer behavior in a physical store is expensive and time-consuming. Brands rely on surveys which are often inaccurate. Consumers, on the other hand, find budgeting advice boring. There was a need for a platform that could simulate a realistic shopping trip to gather data while keeping users entertained.
The Solution: We developed SmartCart, a browser-based shopping simulator.
Budget vs. Nutrition
Players are given a random persona (e.g., “Single Parent,” “College Student”) with a specific budget and dietary needs. They must navigate the virtual aisles and fill their cart within a time limit, balancing cost against nutritional value.
Mechanics:
- Real-time budget tracking
- Dynamic pricing events (flash sales)
- Nutrition score calculation
Final Result
SmartCart Challenge has proven to be a powerful tool for both education and market research.
120k Virtual Visits
The simulation attracted over 120,000 sessions, gathering vast amounts of data on consumer decision-making.
30% Conversion Lift
Brands that A/B tested packaging in the simulation saw a 30% conversion lift when applying the winning design in real stores.
15k Orders Placed
Players redeemed rewards from over 15,000 virtual shopping trips, successfully bridging the gap between the game and real-world sales.
This project demonstrates the potential of gamification to solve complex business problems while providing value to the end-user.
