Understanding Gamification Advertising Effectiveness in an S-Commerce Context: A Study in an Emerging Market

Abstract

The rapid expansion of social commerce (S-commerce) has necessitated the development of effective advertising strategies. Despite claims that gamification offers several benefits when integrated with S-commerce, its significance in emerging markets remains unclear. This study was designed to evaluate the influence of gamification on advertising effectiveness in emerging markets such as Vietnam. Personalization and privacy concerns (S-commerce’s recent prominent factors) were also assessed. A quantitative approach was used in this study. Data were collected through a survey of 477 individuals exposed to gamification advertising on S-commerce platforms. The results demonstrate that gamification significantly influences the intention to interact with advertisements through both hedonic and utilitarian mechanisms. However, this factor only affects attitudes toward advertising through hedonic mechanisms. The influence of attitudes toward advertising on consumer behavioral intentions was also reinforced in our study. Moreover, the empirical findings show that personalization significantly influences gamification and attitudes toward advertising. Finally, privacy concerns were found to have no effect on gamification and attitudes toward advertising and, simultaneously, produced only a small negative effect on the intention to interact with advertisements.