Users often make purchases in a game they like. This happens for various reasons, but the main one is intrinsic motivation. One of the tools that motivate users to make purchases is an offer.
In-game offer – is a special offer to purchase an item in the game for real money on attractive terms for the user, aimed at increasing the demand for an in-game product or service.
Offers are a marketing method, the basis of all sales. Thanks to offers, the number of players who make in-game purchases increases. First, the developer attracts players with a special offer for the first payment, which makes it easier to make further purchases, according to psychologists.
Second, the developer stimulates sales of specific in-game products, for example, a new paid functionality. In this case, an offer described as unique and available in limited quantities is created, which attracts users who have already made purchases before as well as those who do it for the first time.
And finally, it saves the player time to achieve the desired progress. The offer provides the resource they need for a reasonable price at the right time and place, so the user can see that it is a good deal and make a purchase.
Offers can be divided into two types:
Discount. It is a reduction in the price of a product displayed as a number or percentage. This is one of the most popular types of offers and can be found in almost every Free-to-Play game.
There are different types of discount offers, so let's look at some of them:
Sales. These are discounts on many different items, such as in-game currency. Usually, such discounts are applied to the most expensive items in the game to stimulate their sales. They can be either temporary or permanent.
Holiday discount. This is a discount related to a specific day of the calendar: Valentine's Day, New Year, Christmas, Black Friday, etc. These discounts are available only on holidays.
Special offer. Usually, this is an offer that is limited in time, most often a «one-time» offer (in quotes because it can actually be repeated). Any game elements can be sold, both currency and items. The timer in this case either gives time to make a decision or serves as a stimulant.
Besides discounts, there are bonus offers that are no less popular.
Bonus. It is a quantitative increase in the amount of purchased items without changing the price. It is often used during the purchase of game currency and in special offers to increase interest in the offered items. You might think that it is the same as a discount, however, this is not quite true.
The most common type of bonus offer is used in selling in-game currency, when a bonus set is added to the basic set of currency you get, displaying the benefits of buying more expensive sets.
Here are some examples of bonus offers:
Bonus gift. This is a gift added to the payment, the value of which depends on the amount of the payment. For example, players are given a chest from which they are likely to receive game items.
Event bonus. Similar to discounts, these are bonuses or gifts that are built into apps for certain conditions or game events. For example, you launch the sale of currency and a special useful feature on the day before an event in which this feature can be useful.
In-game offer is an essential marketing component of any game that has in-game purchases. The task of the testing team is to check the appearance of relevant offers at a specified moment in the game (for example, after reaching a certain level or during a particular promotion), as well as the correct withdrawal of funds and accruing of in-game resources based on the description of the tested offer.
