Match Makes Good: The Impact of Gamified Distribution of Hedonic Product Coupons on Consumers' Redemption Intention

Abstract

In daily marketing practice, retailers often set up promotional games for consumers, who are eligible to obtain coupons only after completing the game tasks. This paper investigates whether, how, and when the use of gamified coupon distribution affects consumers' willingness to redeem coupons when promoting hedonic products. The paper explains the mechanism that produces this effect based on self-determination theory and the matching effect of the gamified coupon distribution method with hedonic products. Through 2 studies, we found that when a promotional product is defined as a hedonic product, the perceived entertainment induced by the distribution method of gamified coupon distribution will be highly matched to the hedonic product compared to the direct coupon distribution method of the merchant, which will result in higher conceptual fluency and thus increase consumers' willingness to redeem the coupon. Meanwhile, the type of game (games of chance vs. games of skill) plays a moderating role in this process.