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How Xsolla Pay drives repeat spending in gaming
August 20, 2026•5 min
Acquisition gets players through the door, but it’s what happens next that determines whether they stay. Many monetization strategies focus on growing the top of the funnel, chasing new players, but long-term revenue usually comes from keeping the ones you already have. It's harder to earn loyalty than an install, but far more valuable over time. In fact,increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25–95%, which fundamentally changes how studios should think about growth.
Despite this, one of the most important retention touchpoints in the player journey is often overlooked: checkout. It’s where purchase intent is highest, where friction is most visible, and where long-term buying habits are shaped. Xsolla Pay addresses this gap directly by turning checkout into more than a simple transaction point. It combines one-click checkout with a built-in points program, so the same flow that makes the first purchase easy also gives players a reason to return. For developers, this means higher conversion at checkout and a built-in path to repeat purchases without additional engineering effort. To understand how this works, let’s look at why players don’t come back after their first purchase and how Xsolla Pay’s built-in loyalty program changes that.
This appears in broader digital commerce, where cart and checkout abandonment rates average around 70%, with most drop-offs occurring when the process takes too long or requires too many steps.
Loyalty programs turn players’ purchases into progress toward something they value, especially those based on rewards and points systems. Once rewards start accumulating, spending again is no longer just a standalone transaction — it becomes a way to build on what the player has already earned.
This is driven by two customer behaviors. First, people don’t want to lose rewards they’ve already earned. Second, once they’ve made progress toward a goal, they’re more likely to keep going, even if it takes some time.
Together, these effects make loyalty programs highly effective in driving repeat engagement. In fact, 79% of consumers say they are more likely to continue doing business with a brand when one is in place.
In gaming, this idea becomes more powerful when the rewards system is directly tied to the payment flow itself. Instead of being a separate layer, it is embedded into the moment of purchase, so every transaction immediately reflects progress.
With Xsolla Points, the built-in rewards system within Xsolla Pay, players automatically earn points on purchases, and every transaction contributes to a trackable balance, so returning to checkout feels like a continuation of the progress they’ve already made.
Our partner CrazyGames found success with this model by integrating Xsolla Pay to streamline their checkout experience. With their checkout flow simplified, more players completed their first transaction, while the built-in rewards system encouraged repeat purchases over time. The result was a shift from a one-off payment experience to a recurring spending pattern, in which each purchase made the next one more likely.
Want to see how Xsolla Pay can help you turn more first-time buyers into repeat spenders?Сhat with one of our experts or try out one of our demos.
Despite this, one of the most important retention touchpoints in the player journey is often overlooked: checkout. It’s where purchase intent is highest, where friction is most visible, and where long-term buying habits are shaped. Xsolla Pay addresses this gap directly by turning checkout into more than a simple transaction point. It combines one-click checkout with a built-in points program, so the same flow that makes the first purchase easy also gives players a reason to return. For developers, this means higher conversion at checkout and a built-in path to repeat purchases without additional engineering effort. To understand how this works, let’s look at why players don’t come back after their first purchase and how Xsolla Pay’s built-in loyalty program changes that.
What prevents players from buying again?
The first purchase is often treated as the moment a player “converts.” While this is a perfect opportunity to incentivize players to come back, many don’t return or make additional purchases. The main reason is friction. If the checkout process is slow or complicated, many players simply don’t go through it again. Extra steps like account creation, multi-page checkout, and limited payment options make each purchase feel like an effort rather than a quick, repeatable action. This is a core limitation of most checkout systems, which are built to complete a transaction rather than remove friction at checkout. Xsolla Pay takes a different approach by combining one-click checkout with a built-in rewards layer to clear the extra steps that get in the way of a purchase while also giving players a reason to return.This appears in broader digital commerce, where cart and checkout abandonment rates average around 70%, with most drop-offs occurring when the process takes too long or requires too many steps.
How loyalty programs can incentivize players
Loyalty programs turn players’ purchases into progress toward something they value, especially those based on rewards and points systems. Once rewards start accumulating, spending again is no longer just a standalone transaction — it becomes a way to build on what the player has already earned.
This is driven by two customer behaviors. First, people don’t want to lose rewards they’ve already earned. Second, once they’ve made progress toward a goal, they’re more likely to keep going, even if it takes some time.
Together, these effects make loyalty programs highly effective in driving repeat engagement. In fact, 79% of consumers say they are more likely to continue doing business with a brand when one is in place.
In gaming, this idea becomes more powerful when the rewards system is directly tied to the payment flow itself. Instead of being a separate layer, it is embedded into the moment of purchase, so every transaction immediately reflects progress.
With Xsolla Points, the built-in rewards system within Xsolla Pay, players automatically earn points on purchases, and every transaction contributes to a trackable balance, so returning to checkout feels like a continuation of the progress they’ve already made.
The repeat purchase loop in practice
Xsolla Pay combines one-click checkout with built-in loyalty into a single payment flow, creating a repeat-purchase loop. The first purchase is completed quickly, with no extra steps. Right after, the player sees their points balance update, tying what they spent to something they can see and keep, a visible reward. Those points give the player a reason to come back. They’re not starting from zero, so the next purchase is an easy decision, following the same one-click flow, making it just as effortless as the first. At this point, each repeat purchase increases the points balance, which in turn increases the likelihood of another transaction. Repeat customers spend 67% more than first-time customers, meaning even small increases in repeat behavior directly impact revenue.Grow your revenue and keep players coming back
Studios that invest in player retention checkout see the payoff fast: existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products and spend 31% more than new customers, making repeat engagement one of the highest-return areas in gaming monetization. The barrier is usually the engineering effort required to build a loyalty program and frictionless checkout from scratch. Xsolla Pay combines one-click checkout and a built-in loyalty program so teams don’t have to build either from the ground up. Studios can launch faster and turn every purchase into a reason for players to return. The solution is rolling out in the US first, with additional regions to follow.Our partner CrazyGames found success with this model by integrating Xsolla Pay to streamline their checkout experience. With their checkout flow simplified, more players completed their first transaction, while the built-in rewards system encouraged repeat purchases over time. The result was a shift from a one-off payment experience to a recurring spending pattern, in which each purchase made the next one more likely.
Want to see how Xsolla Pay can help you turn more first-time buyers into repeat spenders?Сhat with one of our experts or try out one of our demos.
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