Gamification's role in fostering user engagement with healthy food‐based digital content

Abstract

Abstract Though digital platforms (e.g., social media) are often used to promote unhealthy, calorie‐dense foods, the dynamics characterizing consumers' engagement with healthy nutrition‐based content (e.g., as stimulated trough gamification) on these platforms remains tenuous, warranting further exploration. Addressing this gap, we deploy a qualitative field study and two experiments to show that challenge , a gamification mechanic that relies on rewarding incremental behavioral (e.g., food choice) improvements, shapes consumers' enjoyment of, and engagement with, digital healthy food‐based content. Study 1 ( n = 95) shows that challenge induces consumer enjoyment, boosting their engagement with healthy food‐related digital content. Study 2 ( n = 94) corroborates these findings by revealing a serial mediation effect of gamification‐based challenge on consumers' enjoyment of, and engagement with, healthy food‐based content. Extending Study 1, we also identify engagement's positive effect on consumers' app reuse intent. Moreover, we identify a moderating role of consumers' stage of change‐based action (i.e., readiness to act on their health), which strengthens the association of gamification‐based challenge/enjoyment. Overall, the findings substantiate gamification's role in boosting consumers' engagement with digital healthy food‐based content. We conclude by deriving pertinent implications from our analyses.