Designing Inspiration: A Study of the Impact of Gamification in Virtual Try-On Technology

Creating innovative, user-centered, compelling services to stand out in the competition is more important than ever today to sustain for service provider. In this line, this study investigates the impact of gamification features in virtual try-on applications on user’s motivation in the hairdressing domain. More specifically, it examines how gamification elements influence user motivation in the form of inspiration, employing the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model as a theoretical framework. A mixed-method methodology was adopted, beginning with a qualitative study to identify relevant gamification features in the context of virtual try-on applications followed by an cross-sectional online study to exploratory analyze their effects on inspiration. The cross-sectional online study with 201 participants indicates ambivalent influences of gamification features on inspiration and emphasize the complexity of the underlying psychological mechanisms of the gamification concept. Nevertheless, our findings provide valuable insights that can be used in the design of the development of innovative playful artifacts.