从“消费者”到“玩工”：电商内置游戏的用户留存机制与商业价值转化研究

From “Consumer” to “Playbour”: Research on the User Retention Mechanism and Commercial Value Transformation of Built-in Games in E-Commerce

摘要: 在互联网人口红利见顶、电商行业转向存量博弈的背景下，各大平台纷纷推出芭芭农场、多多果园等内置小游戏，以免费实物为饵抢占用户时间。本文综合运用“玩工”理论与福柯规训学说，剖析这类游戏如何通过时间切割、注意力引导与社交榨取三重机制，将普通消费者塑造为在娱乐中无偿劳动的“玩工”。研究发现，平台借此实现了流量再分配、数据资产积累、消费转化与社交裂变的四重商业闭环。然而，这种榨取模式正引发用户情感耗竭与社交透支，导致信任危机与品牌好感度下滑。据此，本文从尊重自主性、提升任务价值、拓展社会维度三方面提出治理路径，倡导平台从单向“榨取”走向价值“共生”，推动电商游戏生态的可持续转型。

Abstract: In the context where the population growth advantage of the internet has peaked and the e-commerce industry has shifted to a game of resource conservation, various platforms have launched built-in mini-games such as Baba Farm and Duoduo Garden, using free physical items as bait to seize users’ time. This article comprehensively applies the “Playbour” theory and Foucault’s theory of discipline to analyze how these games, through three mechanisms of time segmentation, attention guidance, and social exploitation, transform ordinary consumers into “Playbour” who labor for free in entertainment. The research reveals that the platforms have thereby achieved a quadruple commercial loop of traffic redistribution, data asset accumulation, consumption transformation, and social viral spread. However, this exploitation model is causing emotional exhaustion and social overdraw of users, leading to trust crises and a decline in brand favorability. Based on this, this article proposes governance paths from three aspects: respecting autonomy, enhancing task value, and expanding the social dimension. It advocates that platforms shift from one-way “exploitation” to value “coexistence”, promoting the sustainable transformation of the e-commerce game ecosystem.