PlayAbly Podcast: Gamifying E-commerce for the Future

You did it — Q4 crushed, customers acquired. But now what?

In this episode of the PlayAbly podcast, we explore the hidden goldmine in your ecommerce business: the second purchase. While most brands obsess over acquisition, the real profits are hiding in repeat purchases. Boosting retention by just 5% can increase profits by up to 95%. So why do so many brands still drop the ball after checkout?

We dive into the behavioral psychology ...

Most marketing campaigns fall flat. But what if your next promo could ride the wave of pop culture—without spending a dime on influencers or ads?

In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we dive into the booming trend of "cultural moment campaigns"—where brands bet on real-world events like the Golden Globes, Starbucks PSL season, or even a White Christmas in NYC—and let customers win if the outcome hits.

You’ll learn how s...

Black Friday 2025 broke records—but what’s really behind the $44.2 billion Cyber Week surge? In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we cut through the headlines to unpack what actually drove this year’s growth. Was it real demand… or just higher prices? Which brands won (and why), who quietly lost, and what it all means for December and the overlooked but crucial Q5 window in January.

We’ll cover:

• The end of the “doorbuster” er...

The de minimis loophole is dead — and with it, an entire era of ultra-cheap international ecommerce. On this episode of The PlayAbly Podcast, we break down how the U.S. shutdown of duty-free imports from China and Hong Kong is triggering a seismic shift in DTC pricing, fulfillment, and strategy.

From $684 tariff bills on $355 PC orders to $20 phone cases being taxed like luxury goods, this isn’t a policy tweak — it’s an economic sho...

What happens when you bet your customers on the weather — and still come out on top?

In this episode, we unpack one of the boldest WinBack campaigns we've ever run. Discover how MYPadL used PlayAbly to turn Seattle’s famously gloomy skies into a revenue-driving, customer-retaining spectacle — all tied to the 60th anniversary of pickleball.

Here’s what we break down:

• How a no-discount, no-ad-spend campaign drove 101 orders in ...

Black Friday 2025 is coming in hot—and this year, it's not just about who shouts the loudest, but who plans the smartest. In this episode of The PlayAbly Podcast, we break down the data-backed trends, key deadlines, and exact moves your ecommerce team needs to make in the next 72 hours to win.

We cover:

• What’s moving the needle this season (and what’s noise)
• The 6-lane strategy PlayAbly brands are using to drive profitable gr...

In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we dive into one of the most iconic—and controversial—marketing campaigns of all time: McDonald’s Monopoly.

From its debut in 1987 to its massive fraud scandal in the early 2000s and eventual comeback, McDonald’s Monopoly is a masterclass in gamified customer engagement. But what made it so effective? And what can modern ecommerce brands learn from it?

We cover:

• The history and mechanics of...

Welcome back to the PlayAbly podcast! In this episode, John and Kajal ask a question every ecommerce founder, brand marketer, and growth lead has faced:

Are conferences really worth the cost—or are they just expensive hype?

From mega-events like Shoptalk, INBOUND, and NRF to tightly curated niche summits and DTC-specific forums, we break down what kinds of conferences actually drive ROI—and which ones just burn your budget.

We share:

Welcome back to the PlayAbly podcast. Shopping as we know it is about to radically change. Walmart—yes, that Walmart—just announced a major partnership with OpenAI to let customers shop directly through ChatGPT using Instant Checkout. That means product recommendations, price comparisons, and even purchases—all inside a single AI-powered conversation.

But this isn’t just a new plugin or gimmick. Walmart is going all-in on agentic co...

If you’ve got shelves stacked with slow-moving SKUs, this episode is for you.

On this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we dive into creative, high-ROI strategies for liquidating excess inventory without slashing prices or damaging your brand. From strategic bundling and loyalty point hacks to viral mystery boxes and surprise-and-delight lead gen campaigns, we’re exploring how innovative ecommerce brands are turning deadstock into po...

Traditional discount codes are fading into the background—and customers are craving something more engaging. In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we explore why static promos like “20% off” no longer cut it, and how brands are shifting toward experiences that are interactive, memorable, and wildly effective.

We unpack how retail gamification and ecommerce gamification are reshaping the way brands drive conversions, lower CAC, an...

This episode of the PlayAbly Podcast is your wake-up call before Black Friday. With consumer budgets tightening and competition rising, discounting isn’t your only option — and it might be your worst one.

We're diving deep into why nearly 70% of ecommerce promotions could be illegal, what the “lottery trifecta” is, and how brands are unknowingly putting themselves at risk of massive fines — think $300K or more. From shady spin ...

Retailers are stuck in a discount addiction that’s killing margins—and consumers are playing right along. In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we dive into the psychology behind discounting, why it’s no longer sustainable, and how shoppers have been trained to expect coupon codes at checkout.

But what if you could replace discounts with excitement and still drive conversions? Enter Buy Now, Win Later, a smarter, gamified alterna...

What if the biggest “loss” in your business history was actually your most profitable win?

In this episode of the PlayAbly Podcast, we unpack how brands like Mattress Mack’s Gallery Furniture used psychological triggers, sports fandom, and clever hedging to turn a $10M refund into $73M in sales. We’ll show you how tying purchases to conditional outcomes—like sports games, weather, or holiday events—can drive massive urgency, AOV, an...

In this episode, we connect two unlikely worlds: Taylor Swift’s glitter-bomb Easter eggs for The Life of a Showgirl and Zohran Mamdani’s New York City scavenger hunt. Both show how playful participation is reshaping engagement in 2025.

From Taylor’s perfectly timed 12:12 album reveal, her mysterious orange door and Ophelia-inspired cover, to Mamdani turning politics into Pokemon Go with chai, we break down how these interactive stra...

Hey everyone! Welcome back to The PlayAbly Podcast, the show where ecommerce growth meets game design. Today, our host Kajal is joined by PlayAbly’s CEO and Founder, John, for a deep dive into the future of brand engagement — and why now is the time to press play.

In this episode, we explore the rising power of ecommerce gamification
as a driver for customer retention, loyalty, and delight. Drawing insights from Harvard Busines...

After a brief hiatus, the PlayAbly Podcast is back — and Angelo’s hitting the road. From LA to New York, he’s meeting with brands IRL to show how retail gamification isn't just for your Shopify store — it works just as powerfully in-store. We dive into PlayAbly's latest interactive retail activation with Central Perk, blending shoppable games and live trivia for discounts in a real-world Friends café.

From the psychology b...

Is your ecommerce store blending into the Shopify sea of sameness? In this episode of The PlayAbly Podcast, we’re joined by PlayAbly CEO and founder John Cheng to uncover the science, psychology, and serious ROI behind ecommerce gamification.

From his early days at Unity to the founding of PlayAbly during the COVID-era ecommerce shakeup, John shares how game mechanics—built on behavioral psychology and user interactivity—can radical...

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Brand ads in games? They’ve been called the Holy Grail of digital marketing… and yet, most have failed spectacularly. In this episode of the Playably Podcast, our host Kajal Ford sits down with Playably CEO and founder John Chang to unpack why traditional in-game brand advertising never took off—and why the solution isn’t squeezing ads into games, but instead bringing games into brands.

John shares h...