Gaming elements boost app stickiness (Under the Hood)

Many auto finance apps allow consumers to search for vehicles and manage payments, but they fall short when it comes to providing an engaging user experience long term. Broadly, auto lender apps fall into two buckets: car-shopping tools and loan-management applications. But they lack features to keep customers coming back day after day. Take the DriveTime , Carvana and Capital One Auto Navigator apps. Users can browse tens of thousands of preowned vehicles by make and model. They can search for nearby dealers, apply for financing and adjust variables like downpayment and loan term. They can even calculate trade-in values and view side-by-side monthly payment comparisons by vehicle. Meanwhile, the functionality on apps run by the likes of Toyota Financial Services , Westlake Financial , Ford Credit and United Auto Credit largely center on account access. Users can view payment history, glean payoff information and receive account reminders. On some apps, they can set up recurring payments — with weekly, biweekly and monthly options — or “swipe to pay” for effortless payments. They may also be able to request payment extensions or refinance their loans. Some captive apps might even incorporate vehicle-specific information and maintenance alerts. Engaging consumers An opportunity exists for lenders to engage customers beyond the occasional payment change or balance check. On average, an app loses 77% of its daily active users within three days of installation, and 90% within the first month. Consider a consumer using an app to shop for a new vehicle. Sure, the potential car buyer might search several apps daily — or even multiple times a day — but once the purchase is made, the user is unlikely to return to the app until the next time they’re in the market for a vehicle. Similarly, a borrower may log into his account once a month to check his remaining balance or to see how many months he has left to pay on his loan, but those interactions are bound to be brief and infrequent. What can lenders do to reduce customer churn and keep their apps sticky? In a nutshell, they can add gamification elements and special promos. Gaming statistics are staggering. There are more than 3.3 billion active gamers worldwide, and that number is growing. The average gamer is 36 years old, though nearly 30% of U.S. players are over 50, according to a report from the Entertainment Software Association . Women represent 47% of all players. Lenders can broaden their app appeal by drawing on consumers’ desire for achievement and competition, making tasks more engaging and fun. Common game mechanics entail elements like avatars, points, rewards, badges and challenges. Consider rewarding customers with points or in-app currency for performing certain tasks. For instance, they could earn a certain number of points for making their payments early; the earlier they pay, the more points they receive. Similarly, they could earn points for boosting their credit scores or for referring friends or family members for loans. They can then redeem those points for prizes — perhaps gift cards to Starbucks or a movie. Making auto payments dynamic Auto finance apps may also benefit from a more dynamic visual representation of the consumers’ loans. A standard visualization might consist of a progress bar, but a more gamified option is a milestone map, which represents the debt-payoff journey as a map with specific milestones — based on amounts paid off or the number of payments made — marked along a path. When the user completes a milestone, the app can provide a visual celebration and expose the next section of the map. Lenders might also consider encouraging customers to make extra payments to unlock special rewards. Perhaps customers who typically bump up against their payment due dates could earn a certain number of points for paying a week early. Or consumers could be rewarded for applying birthday money or tax refunds to their monthly payments. Another idea is to encourage borrowers to tack on, say, $50 to their monthly payment — to be stored in an online “piggy-bank” and applied toward their payment in a month where money is tight. These piggy-bank payments could be tracked on a leaderboard to stimulate a competitive spirit and encourage other users to participate. Even non-auto-loan-specific games or challenges could be a draw. For instance, users who complete a 30-day streak logging into their accounts could be rewarded with entries into a raffle for in-app points or a certain percentage off a single payment. The goal is to generate buzz that incentivizes users to log into the app regularly and keep their auto lender top of mind. Loyal customers tend to be more eager to try new products and services launched by brands they know and trust. Auto Finance Summit, the premier industry event for auto lending and leasing, returns Oct. 15-17 at the Bellagio Las Vegas. Learn more about the 2025 event and register here .

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