Mobile game developers can find it complex and time-consuming to manage a steady rollout of in-game features while running a successful web shop. Balancing these elements requires careful coordination and expertise, especially when integrating seasonal events and running promotional events. This article will help you evaluate your need for a web shop with integrated liveops, understand key considerations when choosing a solution, and how to get started with this more complex and very effective form of game monetization.

What is Web Shop with integrated liveops?

With Xsolla Web Shop, developers can seamlessly introduce regular content updates, seasonal events, and targeted promotions to ensure players always have something new to explore. These dynamic changes keep your players engaged and encourage them to spend more time in the game and make web and in-app purchases, ultimately boosting your in-game revenue. Xsolla agrees that determining which kind of web shop you need can be daunting. Your need for a solution that offers a more complex monetization tool and feels like an extension of your game inspired us to develop a suite of tools designed with you in mind. We aim to simplify your web shop's launch and ongoing management, enabling your team to seamlessly implement and sustain your in-game and web shop strategies. Key features Your in-game liveops can be multi-level and complex. To implement a similar strategy on the web and establish a connection between in-game and web liveops, a solution with wide-ranging functionality is the answer. With that in mind, let's look at what Xsolla-operated web shops use to implement liveops on the web.

• Featured offers. Attracts users' attention to unique and profitable offers in the web shop.
• Time- and quantity-limited campaigns. Entices users to hurry and purchase from a limited quantity of promotional items available for only a short time.

• Discount promotions. A deduction of the total cost of the items - more value for less cost.

• Bonus promotions. Rewards users with a bonus for purchasing promotional items.
• First-time purchase offers. This exclusive offer, available only to players who have yet to buy anything, gives the new user extra value for their first purchase of an item or promotion.
• Coupons. Creates coupon promotions with codes granting free items - no purchase required!
• Promo codes. Grants additional incentives for selected items in your store — virtual items, virtual currency, a bundle, etc.)
• Personalized offers. Targets goods and promotions based on user characteristics.
• Loyalty program. Rewards players for their purchases with a unique store credit or currency they can use to redeem promotional web shop items.
• Rewards System. A cumulative rewards system that incentivizes players to engage more deeply with mobile games by offering value points for every purchase made in the web shop.
• A/B testing. A method used to compare statistics from two versions of a web page or a feature within an online shop. A/B testing helps determine which performs better based on metrics such as conversion rate, user engagement, or sales.
• Referral program - A rewards system encouraging users to share the web shop with other players. When a referred friend makes a purchase, the recipient and the sharing user receive rewards.
• Clan-based rewards - An extension of the reward system designed for games with clan systems and more advanced mechanics. If any member of the clan makes a purchase, the entire clan is rewarded with value points.

When to choose Xsolla Web Shop

• If your primary goal is to drive long-term revenue, Xsolla Web Shop can help you achieve this by encouraging more frequent in-app purchases and increasing your players' overall lifetime value through consistent engagement and new content offerings.
• If your game’s monetization involves multiple layers, such as in-game purchases, virtual goods, and seasonal offers, Xsolla's Web Shop can streamline these processes. It provides a dedicated platform to manage and promote all these elements effectively.
• If you have a dedicated liveops team with the time and skills to manage and maintain a web shop, Xsolla’s solution can significantly enhance their efforts. It provides the tools needed to implement and monitor dynamic changes seamlessly.
• When you need a deeper understanding of the gaming and ecommerce ecosystem. When you’re ready, choosing a team with direct game industry experience offers you unique advantages like first-hand knowledge of player behavior, game lifecycle management, and industry trends.

Best practices: making the most of Xsolla Web Shop As we mentioned earlier in the article, Xsolla developed Web Shop to offer a more robust monetization tool that is, in essence, an extension of your game. Once launched, you can benefit the most by managing the shop as another facet of the game that drives player shopping behavior. Your goal is, in part, to modify your users’ behavior patterns and build new shopping habits. The simpler you make it for them to buy, the more effort they invest in learning how to navigate your game’s web shop. By simplifying your shop’s learning curve, you accelerate their building new habits. Here are more ways to encourage new patterns from your players.

• Make your Web Shop a continuation of in-game LiveOps by synchronizing all seasonal events, promotional activities, and sales. Always try to use the Web Shop to empower your in-game activities by adding a new layer of experience to enhance engagement.
• Never stop talking about your web shop. Make sure your in-game communications repeat and reinforce shopping on the web. Conversely, see to it that all direct-to-player communications in the web shop mirror and complement the messages they see in the game.
• Using cumulative reward chains. Reinforce your user’s new habit of playing the game and buying online. When players complete steps in a reward chain, they accumulate points (or virtual currency) to spend on exclusive gifts that enhance gameplay. Doing so can increase ARPPU by more than 7%.
• Your liveops team should manage both in-game and on the web. This approach removes competition and leverages your in-game liveops.

How you can benefit from a Web Shop with integrated liveops Beyond the ability to go straight to players and retain 100% of the revenue, a liveops-fueled-web shop requires little technical expertise. Your in-house monetization works with Xsolla’s game commerce experts to keep your game and shop up-to-date, boost user engagement, improve retention rates, and multiply players’ repeat visits and purchases. What other benefits can you enjoy with this form of a web shop?

• Get incremental revenue. Gain incremental revenue through savings of up to 25% on fees and more effective monetization. If you build your web shop’s liveops correctly, players will be motivated to spend more and make purchases more frequently. This impacts ARPPU and LTV. When combined with savings on commissions, you can enjoy a >10% revenue boost.
• Leverage seasonal events and time-limited offers to trigger players’ FOMO (fear of missing out) response and make purchases more quickly.
• Reduce cost, time, and resources. With Xsolla’s platform, you can effortlessly bring your events to life for players, streamlining the process and reducing costs and time.
• Leverage Xsolla’s expertise and proven success. Since 2020, Xsolla has developed more than 250 webshops globally. Xsolla’s Growth team of game monetization experts focuses on improvement strategies to help quintuple partners' web shop revenue.

In conclusion

The time for game developers to solidify a winning direct-to-player monetization approach is needed more now than ever. The expert you turn to for guidance should be a strategic partner; not just a platform or a service provider. Selecting a platform built by gaming industry veterans at Xsolla can provide invaluable insights and support, aligning your goals with their expertise. Xsolla’s Web Shop with integrated liveops is a powerful tool designed to enhance the player experience and drive engagement for mobile game developers. For mobile game developers aiming for long-term success and revenue growth, implementing this type of Web Shop is a strategic move that can keep the game dynamic, relevant, and profitable in a competitive market. We'll discuss the Web Platform in more detail in a pending article. We'll cover how to determine which option is best for you, what motivates players in each approach, how to retain and engage players, and the essential features and nuances of integration and maintenance. The era of in-app purchasing (IAP) as a powerful mobile game monetization tool is here. Xsolla is excited to say we’ve helped game developers launch more than 250 successful web shops. Sign up to see what your web shop could look like: https://publisher.xsolla.com/signup?integration_type=WebShop