AliExpress - Game Center
How User Research Built A Central Hub to Boost Playtime and Business Impact
AliExpress wanted to grow engagement through casual games, but most players were only active in one game, limiting retention and value.
I partnered with product and design to introduce a centralized Game Center, localize content for key markets, and shape new features through user research.
The result: reaching 140% of DAU and 105% of monetization targets after 6 months of launch.
But also, higher player engagement, better business outcomes, and stronger influence for UX in the gaming strategy.
My role:
User Researcher
UX Writer
Localisation
Skills
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Playtesting
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Preference Tests
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Desk Research
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Market Research
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Product Strategy
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Cross-cultural Naming
Time frame:
From July 2024
To July 2025
Games on an e-commerce platform?
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Chinese shoppers enjoy gamified experiences across their digital products, and e-commerce platforms are no exceptions.
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At Alibaba, advanced gamification and even fully-featured mobile games, are a fundamental part of their “shoppertainment” strategy.
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Therefore, it is no surprise to see fully-featured mobile games connected to real and virtual economies on AliExpress.
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These games rely on the endowment effect, making users feel they have earned their rewards through effort, which enhances their value in their eyes. Those rewards are also directly applicable to any orders on AliExpress, making them super attractive to any regular shoppers.
Background
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Initially, there were 3 main games on AliExpress: GoGo Match, Merge Boss, and Prize Land.
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GoGo Match: A vibrant match-3 game inspired by Candy Crush, featuring custom-designed levels, power-ups, live events, and even character customization - first launched at the end of 2022.
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Merge Boss: A classic merge game. It’s the most thematically aligned, letting players build and expand stores by merging items to create and sell tech and homeware products - first launched in early 2023.
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Prize Land (initially named 'Grow to Get'): A simple and satisfying clicker game where players collect water to grow a tree — eventually earning them an almost-free item as a reward - first launched in early 2023.
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All games allow players to win coupon code or a flexible discount applicable on all orders named "shopping credits".
Challenge
Current game offers led players to stick to just one game, reducing engagement and LTV on other games.
Initial games on AliExpress were developed in silo, with little connection between them. As a result, players would focus all their time on just one game to earn rewards — and this showed up clearly in the business analytics shared to us by the game team:
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Traffic and engagement: Too low according to our partners. Because of the configuration in silo, players need to dedicate time to one game, limiting multi-game engagement
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Impact on monetization: Overall player lifetime value (LTV) as well as the redemption rate of discounts/rewards earned could be improved.
Solutions
Designing a single 'hub' for all games would encourage players to explore more games, driving engagement and monetization.
To solve this matter brought to us by the product and business team, our design team also had some specific objectives. We considered all of them when formulating a solution.
This proposed solution was satisfactory to all parties, as it could fulfill the following 3 goals:
💰
Improve Monetization
🎮
Boost Engagement
🗣️
Leverage User Insights
Introduce a shared meta-currency (Game Points) that players can earn across all games and redeem for rewards.
Encourage players to explore and play multiple games, instead of sticking to just one, through daily missions, challenges, time-limited bonuses.
Conduct user research swiftly and regularly throughout the project to influence product strategy of the game center and guide designers in their decisions.
Action #01 - UX Design, Content Design, User Research
We designed a clear, intuitive game center—and tested it quickly with players
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Created a central hub to unify all games and guide players through the new experience
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Made sure the design supported key behaviors required by business and product: exploring multiple games and returning regularly
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Focused on a layout that’s visually appealing, easy to navigate, and helps players understand how to earn and redeem Game Points
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Write all the interface content with the goals to be useful, usable and purposeful.
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Conducted rapid preference testing with 20 users to validate layout, wording, and reward logic
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First round
of user research
Second round
of user research
All iterations
Action #02 - User Research, Localisation
We expanded the game lineup to better match local player preferences and to increase players interaction with our platform
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Researched game trends using platforms like PlayLiner and AppMagic to identify titles with strong potential
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Scored each game option across four key criteria:
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simplicity or game complexity,
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localization effort,
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development cost,
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monetization potential
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Ran a survey with 70 users from key markets to gather player preferences and validate desk research
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Combined both sets of insights to make informed recommendations:
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Out of 14 games evaluated, we recommended 4 of them that all have (1) fun and engaging gameplay, (2) requiring minimum level of localization effort (3) and development cost, (4) and presenting good opportunities for monetization.
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Out of those 4 recommendations, 2 (“Solitaire”, “Parking Jam 3D”, that was named ‘Rush Hour”) were launched on the game center.
Action #03 - Localisation
We supported each new game with naming and localization across 16 markets
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Provided naming support for all added games, aligning with brand tone and cultural context
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Localized game content in 16 languages to boost clarity and player trust
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Ensured key terminology compiled in glossaries (like rewards, instructions, and in-game items) was adapted to local preferences
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Collaborated closely with regional stakeholders to validate linguistic choices and cultural fit
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Reduced confusion at launch and improved early retention in localized markets through support during QA before and during launch
CapyBistro
Otter's Treasure
Rush Hour
Shelf Shuffle
Pinball Mania
Before vs. After
Later, we brainstormed some cool new looks for the game. Those would be virtual rewards that can be earned through the game.
We regularly added new content to keep our players engaged.
Before
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Games work in silo, with little interaction between them and little incentive to engage with more than one game.
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Because of this, player dedicate all their time to only one game.
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Missed opportunity to redirect them to more games, and increase their LTV.
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Later, we brainstormed some cool new looks for the game. Those would be virtual rewards that can be earned through the game.
We regularly added new content to keep our players engaged.
After
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Games are now well-connected, with strong incentives for players to play to more than one game.
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Daily missions and Bonus goals increase engagement of players on multiple games
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More games introduced allowing players to find a game they like and earn discounts in a more engaging, funnier way.
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Business take full opportunity of player time spent on the platform, leading to increase of their LTV and DAU.
Iterations
Engagement was growing—but we knew we could push it further with added mechanics designed to drive recurring play
In our recommendations, we would push features that would keep players excited while also supporting key business goals like retention and engagement.
Market Research & Benchmarking
Conducted competitor analysis and desk research to identify effective retention mechanics
Retention Best Practices
Highlighted best practices around timed events, daily login bonuses, and reward calendars
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partnered with product and design teams to ideate and refine those features
Results
Early post-launch metrics showed noticeable gains in engagement and satisfaction
Key business metrics—such as engagement rates and reward redemption—met or exceeded our benchmarks, justifying continued investment and iteration later on.
Crucially, these quantifiable outcomes helped demonstrate the impact of user research, increasing stakeholder buy-in and enabling our team to take on a more strategic role in future game projects with the AliExpress team
Furthermore, games that were already online before the launch of the game center also benefitted from it:
What Did I Learn
When they’re tightly integrated into product strategy, content design and user research can have massive impact.
By taking initiative to run fast, lightweight research and share findings early, I helped guide decisions on everything from feature prioritization to naming and localization.
It also showed me that advocating for the user isn’t just about usability—it’s about aligning player motivations with business goals, and making sure both are heard at the table.
More broadly, this reinforced how important it is to collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, and data teams—especially in fast-moving environments like AliExpress.
Ultimately, the project was a reminder that strong outcomes often come from stepping up, not waiting for permission.
