Dealcart
Turning Rewards from a Forgotten Feature
into a Retention Engine
I transformed DealCart's rewards program into an engagement system that increased retention by 52% and made rewards the #1 driver of repeat purchases.
• Only 23% ever visited the rewards screen.
• 96% never checked their total savings.
• 44% retention rate (below 65% industry benchmark)
• Users earning coins but forgetting to use them.
Rewards were designed as a passive accounting system, not an engagement experience.
Make rewards impossible to ignore and irresistible to use.
80% found rewards boring, 75% couldn't explain how earning
worked, and 96% never checked their balance. Yet users who
played reward games had 40% higher purchase rates.
These insights shifted the focus away from adding more rewards and toward redesigning how rewards reinforced behavior over time.
Make the gamification module the centerpiece
because users who played games had 40%
higher purchase rates.
Why:
Users who played games had 40% higher purchase rates
What:
Spin wheel as hero element, make it daily engagement hook
Impact:
6x daily visits to rewards
Created visual hierarchy for instant scanning
because users took 45 seconds to find "how
to earn more".
Why:
75% of users couldn't explain how earning worked.
What:
Balance cards (what you have)
Earning actions (what you can do now)
Progress tracking table (how the system works)
Impact:
Users went from 45 seconds to 5 seconds finding earning methods.
Built rewards growth loop across all touch
points because 23% visiting rewards meant 77%
never saw value.
Why:
23% visiting rewards meant 77% never saw value
What:
Integrated into home, checkout, post-order and added reward bazaar to increase retention.
Impact:
27% of shares from Share & Earn button
Retention:
4% → 52% (30-day active users) +18% increase, exceeding goal by 12 points
Engagement:
6x more daily visits to rewards screen
27% of app shares from Share & Earn
40% purchase lift from game players
Business:
34% increase in customer lifetime value
Rewards became #1 driver of repeat purchases
