Gamification as a marketing strategy for sustainable retail: Effects on consumer purchasing decisions and environmental awareness

Sustainability is a pressing concern for the global retail industry, yet consumer behavior often reflects an attitude–behavior gap wherein environmental concern does not consistently translate into pro-environmental purchasing. This study investigates gamification as a mechanism to bridge this gap by enhancing environmental awareness and influencing sustainable purchasing decisions. A mixed-methods design integrated a systematic literature review (SLR) with a quantitative survey. The SLR, conducted according to PRISMA guidelines and synthesizing 78 peer-reviewed articles published between 2019 and 2024, identified eight gamification mechanisms—immersion, achievement, social influence, reward, challenge, interactivity, meaningful design, and assessment—as critical design elements. These insights informed a structured questionnaire administered to 405 consumers in Bangkok and five surrounding provinces. Reliability and validity testing confirmed the robustness of the instrument, and statistical analyses, including correlation and hierarchical regression, were conducted using SPSS. Results show that gamification exerted significant effects, explaining 77.3% of the variance in environmental awareness and 64.8% of the variance in purchasing decisions. Mechanism-specific effects differed: social influence, meaningful design, challenge, immersion, and assessment were most influential for awareness, while immersion, achievement, challenge, and assessment predicted purchasing more strongly. These findings highlight dual pathways: cognitive–attitudinal processes drive awareness, while behavioral–transactional processes shape purchasing. Theoretically, the study extends gamification’s application within the Technology Acceptance Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, Self-Determination Theory, and Flow Theory. Managerially, it offers practical guidance for retailers, while policy implications suggest gamification can support Sustainable Development Goal 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production.