Examining the gamified effect of the blindbox design: The moderating role of price

A blindbox is a product design that incorporates uncertainty; a customer who purchases a blindbox receives a random product from a product series. The recent popularity of blindbox products calls for a rigorous examination of this product design. This study proposes a research model to examine the blindbox effects in an online retailing context. Following the uncertainty principle of gamification marketing, we hypothesize that the blindbox design can induce gameful experiences, thereby increasing customers' brand engagement and purchase intention. We also investigate the moderation effect of an important design factor: the product price. Data from two experiments support the blindbox effects: this design leads to higher gameful experiences and marketing outcomes than a certain product. Moreover, the blindbox effects largely depend on the price: the effects are more salient at a premium price level and diminish below the average market price. Furthermore, we rule out two rival explanations, novelty and presentation richness, through supplementary tests. The findings, design issues, contributions, and directions for future research are discussed.