Harrods’ Stiletto Wars Challenge Gamifies The High Heel

The Ultimate Game For Heel-A-Holics

How do you gamify a fashion shoe store? Deborah Bee, director of creative marketing at the Harrods (@Harrods) department store in London, answers with Stiletto Wars, the new game available in Harrods’ mobile app this month. “Gaming is such an intrinsic part of our culture – it is the number one activity on mobiles in terms of time spent, dwarfing even Facebook. Interactivity is a key part of today’s magazine world, bringing the printed issue to life with videos, games and interactive features.”

To play the game on a mobile device, heel-a-holics have to first install the free Harrods magazine app and download the September issue themed around Harrods’ Shoe Heaven, a newly unveiled 42,000-square foot space for women’s footwear showcasing more than 50 designers and labels. Stiletto Wars is an important part of this issue.

“Stiletto Wars is simply good fun, delivering an addictive gaming experience through heavenly shoes, and users have the chance to win their dream pair of heels from Shoe Heaven for just playing and submitting their score.”

The game is like Bejeweled for heels, asking players to match at least three of the same shoe either vertically or horizontally. When three are matched, the matches disappear to allow the tiles to shift down, and the player earns points.

After three minutes of the game run out, the player’s total score is revealed, and they are given options to share their score for a chance to win prizes by submitting their contact information and creating a username. At certain milestones top scorers on the leaderboard will win Harrods gift cards.

On October 31, every player who has shared their score since the launch of the game will be entered into a drawing for a VIP experience for two. The winner will get to share a personal shopping appointment in Shoe Heaven, complete with a considerable gift card and beauty treatments.

A leaderboard shows the current top scorers, giving consumers a goal to reach. This competition gives consumers an incentive to play, and allows aspirational consumers the opportunity to shop the new shoe floor.

Until September 22 consumers can also play Stiletto Wars through a large installation in the retailer’s windows on Brompton Road.

Stiletto Wars is not the only initiative by Harrods as an effort to supplement the static content of its app and keep it exciting, but it surely looks like the most interactive one. Stiletto Wars will “help showcase the diversity of designer brands in Harrods Shoe Heaven, the world’s largest luxury shoe destination with more than 100,000 pairs – plus reinforce Harrod’s luxury status and sense of fun,” says Ms. Bee.

Do you think this is a great gamified initiative for the fashion industry? What are your favorite gamification examples in fashion?