Cultivating a Desire to Save Through Gamification

Integrating gamification techniques into the core UX to improve retention and help low-income Americans build lasting savings habits.

B2C . RETENTION

What's this about?

Problem . My role . Solution

Problem

The product wasn't giving members compelling reasons to return

I was tasked to better integrate gamification techniques into the core UX to improve retention.
The stakes
Without returning users, SaverLife would struggle to say they helped low-income Americans save more, which would negatively impact their funding efforts.
My Role
MY ROLE
Lead
End-to-end design
TIMELINE
1-3 months
For MVP + iterations
PLATFORM
Web
Responsive design
COMPANY
SaverLife
Nonprofit fintech
Impact

Sustained behavior change, not temporary spikes

We revamped the core experience with a focus on new point activities which increased retention among all members by 2x YOY.

It also:
  • Created and/or reinforced member's savings habits
  • Improved their financial literacy
  • Provided better reasons to visit SaverLife every week
BUSINESS IMPACT
These improvements sustained 12+ months post-launch, validating that we created lasting behavior change, not just temporary engagement spikes.
Before

Scattered Features, No Habit Formed

What members experienced:
  • Members saw SaverLife as a "lottery" not a savings tool
  • Dashboard only showed sweepstakes challenges
  • Majority of users never discovered the points system
  • Gamification features hidden in hamburger menu
  • No clear connection between actions and savings progress
RETENTION PATTERN
Engagement spiked during sweepstakes promotions, but remained flat retention between events. This meant there was no habit formation loop.
After

Cultivating a Desire to Save

What we changed:
  • Improved navigation and visuals of the dashboard
  • Better highlighted core features
  • Introduced points store and point activities
  • Leveraged gamification to form habits = Created weekly engagement loops
KEY OUTCOME
2x Retention YOY and 2.5x weekly active users

This meant we established savings habits for a larger number of members than ever before.

How did we get there?

Problem . Research . Framing

THE CONTEXT

Understanding the Landscape
When I joined SaverLife in March 2020, members (low-income Americans) were navigating circumstances that affected their already complicated relationship to money.

THE PROBLEM

Users
  • Income volatility (inconsistent paychecks)
  • Supporting family on extremely tight budgets
  • Difficulty saving, if at all
  • Didn't realize the impact a savings habit could have
Product State
  • Disjointed blogs, forums, some gamification features
  • Gamification tucked away in hamburger menu
  • Unclear how features tied together
THE GAP
Why the existing product struggled
The product focused on sweepstakes-style challenges ("chance to win money") rather than habit formation ("ability to save consistently"). Members primarily saw SaverLife as a lottery, not as a savings tool.

THE RESEARCH

Understanding Member Motivation
Throughout my work on this, I applied a mixed-research approach to navigate assumptions and anchoring effects.
Initial Challenge
The Anchoring Effect Challenge
Leadership was already set on a solution
Our Chief Impact Officer was set on "integrating gamification techniques into core UX to improve retention." This represented an anchoring effect—where an initial solution can constrain thinking before the problem is fully understood.
My Approach
Focus on user needs first
What helped me navigate this was my desire to understand what SaverLife members were actually trying to accomplish and what was preventing that.
1. What (The challenge space)
Low-income Americans struggle to develop consistent savings habits despite knowing they should save.

The existing SaverLife experience wasn't providing enough motivation or structure to help members return weekly and build these habits.
2. For Whom (Specific user group)
Primary: Low-income adults (earning <$70K/year) with volatile incomes

Characteristics: Inconsistent paychecks, supporting family on tight budgets, varying levels of financial literacy

Context: Navigating 2020 economic conditions that made saving even more difficult
3. Context (Key insights from research)
Research revealed these interconnected barriers:
Barrier 1: Credibility
Therefore: "If we increase transparency (points store, clear activities), then members trust SaverLife is 'legit'"
Barrier 2: Impact
Therefore: "If members trust us, then they engage with financial literacy content and take action"
Barrier 3: Usability
Therefore: "If content is easy to find (dashboard-first), then members complete more activities"
Barrier 4: Detectability
Therefore: "If activities are visible on dashboard, then members discover them within first week"
ROOT CAUSE IDENTIFIED
This wasn't a usability problem
It was a habit formation problem at the structural level. The product didn't provide recurring reasons to engage or visible progress indicators.

MORE RESEARCH

Systematic Discovery By Mapping the User Journey
I wanted to also understand where specifically members were struggling so I mapped the current-state journey from signup and identified product opportunities to help cultivate a savings habit.
Key Opportunities Identified
Phase 1: Discovery (First visit)
Feelings: "Is this legit? What's in it for me? Seems too good to be true."

Pain: Unclear value proposition, sweepstakes messaging dominated
Phase 1 Opportunity
How might we build trust immediately?
Phase 2: Onboarding (Account creation)
Feelings: "Okay, I'm in. Now what? Where's the money they promised?"

Pain: Post-signup landed on homepage (not dashboard), no clear next steps
Phase 2 Opportunity
How might we direct members to actionable content immediately?
Phase 3: Initial Engagement (First 2 weeks)
Feelings: "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here. Is this just a lottery?"

Pain: 62% never discovered points system, no recurring reason to visit
Phase 3 Opportunity
How might we create weekly engagement loops?
Phase 4: Drop-off (Weeks 3-8)
Feelings: "I tried it, but there's nothing for me to do regularly."

Pain: No habit formation—only sporadic engagement, no visible progress
Phase 4 Opportunity (Critical)
How might we make daily/weekly activities the default experience?
Phase 5: Retention (Weeks 8+)
Success pattern: Only 18% made it here. Members who discovered points + educational content became advocates.
Phase 5 Opportunity
How might we get more members to discover this pattern earlier in their journey?

THE OPPORTUNITY

Summarizing and Framing the Design Challenge
To help guide solution development.
Mental Models We Needed to Shift
✕ "Saving isn't for people like me"
‍
✓ "I can save $5 and it matters"
✕ "I need a stable income to save"
‍
✓ "Small consistent actions build habits despite income volatility"
✕ "SaverLife is just a lottery"
‍
✓ "SaverLife helps me build financial security"
JTBD Components
Situation Trigger
Unpredictable expenses (car repair, medical bills, school supplies)
Motivation
Feel financially secure despite income volatility
Expected Outcome
Emergency fund to avoid predatory lending
Current Obstacles
Don't know where to start; can't save "enough" to matter; forget to save consistently
CORE JTBD
"When I have an unexpected expense coming up (or already here), I want to have money set aside, so I can avoid predatory loans and maintain financial stability for myself, or my family."
Goals
Human Need
Help members feel capable of saving despite income volatility by providing structure, motivation, and achievable daily/weekly actions that build confidence over time.
Business Need
Improve retention to demonstrate sustained impact to funders, securing SaverLife's nonprofit viability and ability to scale our mission.
NORTH STAR METRIC
12-week retention rate
Directly measures sustained engagement, aligns with habit formation research (8-12 weeks), and matches how funders evaluate us.

What was the approach?

Evaluation . Testing . Systematic Thinking

OVERCOMING
ANCHORING BIAS

Validating the Gamification Hypothesis
Our Chief Impact Officer wanted to better "integrate gamification," but I needed to validate whether this was the right approach or if we were anchored on a predetermined solution.
How I Challenged This: 4 Strategic Alternatives Evaluated
Option 1: Education-Only Approach
Financial literacy content
✓ Aligned with nonprofit mission, low technical lift, builds on existing blog content

✕ "I need a stable income to save"
Option 2: Social Accountability
Peer support, buddy systems
✓ Social motivation proven effective, low development cost

✕ Hard to bootstrap network effects with sparse user base; privacy concerns around sharing financial struggles
Option 3: Behavioral Nudges
SMS reminders, email campaigns
✓ Direct communication channel, proven for habit formation

✕ Required opt-in; members already ignored promotional emails; felt spammy
Option 4: Gamification + Education
Chosen approach
✓ Variable rewards drive habits (proven psychology); leverages existing 3rd-party API; measurable through activity completion

✕ Risk of feeling patronizing; known API limitations; balance fun with financial seriousness
Three Sources Confirmed the Approach
📊 Survey Feedback
"I didn't even know you had points!" appeared in many responses = validation that concept wasn't the problem, discoverability was.
🎙️ User Interviews
Members who used points said it "made saving feel like a game I could win" and "broke down an impossible goal into tiny achievements" = positive sentiment validation.
Tested Against Constraints
Technical
Existing 3rd-party gamification API → Low implementation cost, fast launch
Business
1-month MVP needed to align with funding cycle → Custom behavioral systems would take 6+ months
User
Low-income population skeptical of patronizing "rewards for poor people" → Transparency and legitimacy critical
DECISION MADE
Gamification was the right approach
Not because stakeholders suggested it, but because data validated it, constraints favored it, and users responded positively when they discovered it.

THE DESIGN

Before: The Dashboard's Structural Problem
The original dashboard embodied the structural issues we'd identified in discovery.
Original state
Original state: Issues
  • "My savings" section wasn't updated in real-time → Generated confusion and trust issues
Original state: Issues
  • Mobile navigation only appeared on two pages, not throughout the entire site → Created disorientation
Original state: Issues
  • Existing members directed to homepage first, then had to navigate to dashboard → Extra friction to reach actionable content
Original state: Issues
  • Only savings challenges/sweepstakes visible → Reinforced "lottery" mental model
Core IA Problem: Promotional content vs. habit formation
The dashboard only showed sweepstakes and savings challenges—occasional events that created engagement spikes but no sustained habits.
What We Kept
Promotions and savings challenges were core to SaverLife's product and saw consistent engagement—I needed to maintain these while adding the missing habit-formation structure.

THE DESIGN

After (MVP): Small Changes, Strategic Leverage Points
We made the dashboard the default screen all existing members would see first—a simple structural change with cascading effects.
What we changed
  • Updated visuals and information hierarchy to make sections scannable
What we changed
  • Highlighted features with dedicated sections: Points activities, savings goals, educational content
What we changed
  • Introduced new cards to entice members to engage with points and set savings goals
What we changed
  • New mobile navigation (shipped 1 week post-MVP due to engineering bandwidth)
Early Issues We Tracked
✕ Savings goal card suffered from lagging updates

✕ "What's new" section couldn't be automated → Required manual updates

✕ Each card took up significant vertical space → Limited ability to introduce new content sections

These issues informed our iterative improvements post-MVP.

THE DESIGN

Before: Gamification UX
Our most powerful retention lever was structurally invisible to most members.
The Original State
  • Members accessed points through desktop's top navbar and hamburger menu on mobile
  • Points interface was a widget powered by 3rd-party gamification service
  • Felt disconnected from rest of SaverLife experience
What The Data Told Us
From forums and surveys, it was clear members:
  • ❌ Didn't understand how to earn points
  • ❌ Didn't know when they earned them
  • ❌ Didn't know what points were for
  • ❌ Often weren't aware this feature existed at all
Discoverability Failure Points
Desktop: Top navbar
Lost among other navigation items
Mobile: Hamburger menu
Buried 2+ taps deep
3rd-party widget
Visually disconnected from SaverLife brand
The Opportunity
Surface the hidden value. Make points, activities, and rewards impossible to miss.

THE DESIGN

After (MVP): Making the Invisible Visible
We introduced a complete activity system designed to create daily and weekly engagement loops.
Activity Types Introduced
What we changed
Daily Activities
Read article, log a thought, check savings tip
Weekly Activities
Save $5, complete budget review, engage with content
One-time Activities
Complete profile, link bank, set first goal
Points Store
Clear rewards catalog showing redemption options
Also Introduced
Refined notifications to indicate completed activities and points earned with clear feedback
Early Signals: Mixed Results
We monitored closely and saw both challenges and promising signs.
Challenges We Monitored
  • One-time activities didn't always count despite members completing them → Early signs of API issues we'd anticipated
  • Some activities like "Log your budget" and "Post on forums" didn't produce quality engagement → Completion without meaningful interaction
✓ Promising Signals
  • Growing number of members reading SaverLife's articles → Strong predictor of retention
  • Increasing adoption of "$5 weekly save" activity → Core habit formation happening
  • Members spending 10-20 minutes per visit on average → Deep engagement, not just quick check-ins
KEY LEARNING
The activity system was working—but we needed to iterate on which activities drove meaningful behavior vs. just completions.

THE DESIGN

Enhancements: Continuous Learning and Optimization
Post-MVP, we continued testing and refining based on behavioral data and predictive analysis.
What We Kept Testing
Navigation Structure Updates
Updated navigation when we added themed activities to ensure discoverability scaled
Themed Point Activities/Challenges
Introduced multiple themed activities centered around monthly topics and promotions to maintain freshness

What happened?

Results . Reflection

RESULTS

Sustained Impact Over Time
The true test of habit formation isn't immediate spikes—it's sustained behavior change over time.
12-Month Post-Launch Tracking
~20%
Retention sustained vs. ~10% baseline
~2.5x
Weekly active users = Not just launch excitement
✓ Key Validation
These weren't temporary engagement spikes. The improvements stabilized over 12 months, indicating real habit formation—not just novelty effects.
Textbook Habit Formation Behavior
Usage Pattern Discovered
  • 10-20 minutes per visit
  • 2-3 times per week
  • Same routine each visit
This pattern—consistent duration, regular frequency, predictable behavior—is the definition of habit formation.
Qualitative Validation: Why Members Kept Coming Back
I conducted interviews with SaverLife's most engaged members one year post-launch to understand their sustained engagement.
Insight 1
"Aha moments" happened when they won money or learned something new
Peak-End Rule in action—these memorable moments shaped overall perception of SaverLife
Insight 2
"All the little nudges" from weekly activities were what actually helped them save
"I already knew I should save, but this made me actually do it"—structure over knowledge
Insight 3
Engaged members had stronger interest in financial literacy than average
They weren't just playing for points—they were genuinely learning
Insight 4
Gamification motivated return visits even for members who "already know this stuff"
It provided external accountability they couldn't create alone
Insight 5
Typical usage: 10-20 min per visit, 2-3x per week, same routine
Textbook habit formation behavior—consistency, not intensity
What This Validated
Mental Model Shift
From: "SaverLife is a lottery"

To: "SaverLife is my weekly savings check-in"
Dual Requirement
Habit formation requires both capability (education) and motivation (gamification)—neither alone was sufficient.
Structural Impact
The structural changes we made (visibility + recurring cadence) created lasting behavior change, not temporary engagement spikes.

Reflections

What Surprised Me
"Little Nudges" Framing
I designed the system thinking about habit formation and gamification principles, but users didn't describe it that way. They talked about how the activities "reminded them to think about saving" and "gave them permission to feel proud of small progress."

This taught me: The psychological value of external structure and validation is powerful for behavior change—people often know what they should do but need environmental cues to actually do it consistently.
Design Implications
Context > Complexity
Simple contextual relevance (seasonal themes, life events) can outperform sophisticated personalization algorithms.
Permission to Act
Users often know what they should do—they need external cues and validation to actually do it.
Small Wins Matter
"Permission to feel proud of small progress" was more motivating than point totals.
What I'd Do Differently
Although we succeeded in improving retention and achieving strong ROI, we weren't fully prepared for the technical and knowledge debt that came from rapid iteration. It's tempting to put additional steps into the onboarding flow where they may feel like they are adding value, but that doesn't always align with end-user expectations.
The Challenge
Our team had several competing product needs outside this initiative, and bandwidth was extremely limited. This meant devoting roadmap time to other important work, which took time away from:
  • ❌ Reviewing research findings as a team (not just as designer)
  • ❌ Pursuing immediate dashboard enhancements based on early data
  • ❌ Fixing known issues with one-time activity tracking
  • ❌ Addressing the "What's new" section that required manual updates
How I Adapted
Adaptation 1
Whenever a new initiative meant we could add enhancements that aligned with our goals, I advocated for integrating them rather than treating them as separate projects. This helped us make incremental progress even when we couldn't dedicate full sprints.
Adaptation 2
I continued tracking data and seeking answers to open questions—like why our most engaged members kept coming back. This meant whenever we discussed product improvements, I was ready to contribute evidence-based recommendations rather than opinions.
If I Could Do It Over
I would have pushed harder for dedicated bi-weekly iteration sprints rather than assuming we'd find time between other initiatives. The improvements we made sprint-after-sprint were valuable, but they could have happened faster with protected time.

This would have required better stakeholder education about the compound value of continuous improvement vs. shipping once and moving on.
KEY LEARNING
Even with constraints, being the person who consistently brings data and user insights to discussions gives you influence over the roadmap. You don't need perfect conditions—you need persistence in tracking what matters.