A "Win" for Hopium

Hopium businesses always have a "win" metric that, when triggered for a user, can significantly boost retention.

I can confidently say that a user who experiences a win shortly after onboarding on Dream11 tends to stick around longer. Instant gratification and a sense of hope drive their future behaviour. Now that they know what a win looks like, they are motivated to chase it, to invest more, seeking that same high again.

Some dating apps attempt to manipulate this behaviour by offering fake interactions at the start. Fake likes aren't uncommon. This strategy works—until it doesn’t. Once users discover fake profiles, the platform's credibility and trust plummet, potentially rendering the entire network worthless. Trust in hopium apps is already fragile, and this makes sense.

Unlike Amazon or Paytm, hopium apps don’t consistently deliver on their promises. They sell the hope of winning, but hope is never guaranteed. When that hope is shattered, the app's appeal takes a hit as well.

In the end, it is definitely Tinder's fault that no one swipes right on my profile.