How do you design an experience that encourages repeat visitors? This blog post will highlight strategies that entice guests to return over and over again. We reference a few real-world examples that we hope will inspire you!

Note: this post is not sponsored by any of our examples (nor anyone else!)

Make it Fun to Do

We may as well state the obvious: build on a physically enjoyable activity. Theme parks and arcades have mastered this. Some people like speeding in open air at 60mph. Some people like tossing rings. I cannot overstate how much less fun it is to swipe a screen that “throws” a “ring” than to throw a physical ring onto some physical bottles. I don’t care if the screen provides a variety of arcade experiences. If the physical action is swiping screens, I’m not doing it.

There’s been a rise in claw machine stores around New York City. Considering how basic the technology is, this might seem surprising. From an experience design perspective, it is not: claw machines evoke a very specific behavior and feeling. They encourage hyper focus on manual movement when guests try to perfectly place the claw above their intended prize. Guests then feel pure anticipation when the claw slowly lowers, encircles the prize, and begins to rise…only for the prize to slip from the claw’s grasp.

I have never won anything from a claw machine, but I occasionally return. I usually don’t even want any of the prizes. I play because I want to feel that excitement. 

Switch Up the Content

Guests will return to experience variety. Variety can be as simple as a button making different sounds when pressed. Maybe it cycles through funny and surprising sounds. One button alone may not be enough to get a guest to return, but in aggregate, simple effects can significantly alter an experience. For example, an escape room may be mystery-themed most of the year, but with different sound effects and lower lighting, it could be re-themed to horror in October.

At Level99, guests participate in challenges running the gamut from mental to physical. Because there are many challenges, the owners can easily renovate a small number of them at any given time. This permits them to cycle through different content. (That said, many of the challenges are fun to repeat, e.g. crossing a rope suspended in midair. Three years of aging raised the difficulty level for me.)

Schedule Rewards

Let’s return to our hypothetical button that makes funny sounds. When should those sounds change? If we want guests to return throughout the day, the sounds could cycle on an hourly basis. If we want guests to return throughout the year, the cycle could be seasonal. 

People are most likely to repeat a behavior if the reward is on a variable ratio schedule. This means that the guest cannot predict exactly when they will be rewarded for participating in the activity, nor can they predict the size nor content of the reward. Variable ratio reinforcement is famously used by slot machines. Because most casinos have many slot machines, there is no downside to using variable rewards to extend the duration of the experience. No one is in line waiting for a slot machine.

On a fixed ratio schedule, guests know exactly how many times they have to do something to be rewarded, and they know what the reward will be. A concert venue could give a guest a sticker for seeing five of their concerts. A venue may choose a fixed ratio schedule because a concert ticket is much pricier than a round at a slot machine, and therefore less frequent. If the reward varies in size, content, and even schedule, a guest may feel cheated, e.g. if they think a different guest got a better reward than they did.

Track Individuals

It is extremely helpful to track individuals in order to reward guests for repeats. It’s not necessary (see: the button that makes different sounds), but it opens up many opportunities.

Tracking can be as simple as keeping someone’s cumulative point total. Level99 associates points with email accounts, which guests were going to share anyway as part of signing a waiver. Beating challenges awards points, and visitors can use cumulative points to acquire free food and merchandise. I hope to earn a free pretzel during my next visit.

We can enable more rewards by tracking individual progress in depth. GP specializes in configuring and tracking individual guest data in order to customize experiences. By defining and tracking different guest states, we can serve a variety of rewards and experiences based on guests’ personal history and preferences. 

The Wizarding World at Universal Orlando Resort varies its content based on guests’ house (team), wizarding level, and adventures. In adventures, guests follow narrative storylines that guide them from one wand location to another. Some wand locations serve special adventure content, encouraging guests to return to a location they’ve already visited.

Conclusion

When thinking about encouraging return visits, the first model that comes to mind might be pretty literal, e.g. buy 10 coffees, get 1 free.  A broader concept of rewards, including special and possibly personalized moments, can open up many more opportunities. By considering repeat visitors in the early stages of design, we can create an experience where returning feels organic, and maybe even essential.