Every successful free-to-play game usually has an in-game shop with various virtual goods players can buy. However, creating an in-game shop and filling it in with content is not enough. Similarly to a usual retail shop, the question is about traffic. How many people will regularly open it to buy something? How do owners promote new arrivals?
How can gifts help?
There is a simple way to attract buyers and make them check the content of your shop every day (or even a few times per day)! So, what can it be? Just two words: free gifts.
By presenting a gift that players can collect for free in your shop, you can drive a lot of attention to the rest of the content. Such a gift should be available not constantly but with a specific schedule (for example, every Friday or once a month), making it a reason for showing a notification on the shop’s icon.
No player will resist tapping it to check out what’s new. While browsing through the shop to collect a gift, they will also see lots of other goods you sell. Some discounts here, some offers there, and, by the way, why not buy some hard currency? Visibility is a key to increasing sales.
This sounds like a great retention tactic as well. Occasional notifications from the game to get back for a small gift drives up the number of sessions, average session time, and day-to-day retention.
How do others implement such gifts?
Let’s see how some well-known games have already implemented such a feature.
Marvel Contest of Champions
Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes
Mobile Legends Adventure
Final Fantasy BE: WOTV
How to set it up in Balancy?
Can we offer gifts to players with the help of Balancy? For sure! Just take a minute and watch the following short video, and you will realize that you’re just a few clicks away from using this robust retention and monetization tool.