Travel app Hopper tests reward-based games as companies compete for eyeballs in the attention economy

Dangling the carrot (cash)… Hopper passed Booking.com as the most downloaded US travel app last year, snagging attention with data-driven features like hotel-price freezes and flight-rebooking guarantees. Now it’s trying to keep consumers’ attention — even when they’re not planning trips. Hopper’s testing a program that rewards users for playing games.

• Carrot-nomics: Hopper gives users “Carrot Cash” for referring friends, playing games, or opening the app seven days a row (think: Snap streak). Users can redeem Carrot Cash for discounts.
• Games > billboards: Hopper has doled out $50M in rewards, vouchers, and deals in the past year — more than it spent on marketing during that time.

Hopping into the game… Hopper isn’t the first to use games as an engagement booster: Chinese app Pinduoduo used gaming and social features to become an ecomm giant across Asia. Now travel apps like India-based Oyo and US-based IHG are using mobile games to keep customers engaged as they rack up points for discounted stays. Starbucks added java-themed games to its recently revamped rewards app.