With gaming becoming more and more popular, it’s no surprise that it has now found its way into retail analytics.

Traditional predictive retail analytics have relied on waiting until a product exists and then launching a test run and examining the sales history to see which products sell better than others.

First Insight uses online games to help retailers gauge wahich merchandise to move ahead with and which to hold off on. It also determines what colors and styles are most popular—all before the product has been created.

The concept is based on the idea that retailers want to understand their customers and provide them with what they want rather than guessing which products and styles they’ll be drawn to, said Jim Shea, vice president of marketing for the Pittsburgh-based company.

“It’s addressing the most difficult challenge in retail,” he said. “How will an item that is new to a retailer’s assortment or new to the market perform? And what is the optimal starting price point for that item?”

First Insight offers five games geared around crowd sourcing to inform retailers what products to promote and which to avoid and how each item should be priced. The games are shared with the consumer via social media, email, mobile apps or the retailers’ websites.

They can also include preliminary questions to screen for age, gender or knowledge of the product.

Email is currently used the most often, but First Insight Chief Executive and President Greg Petro said the company wants to provide multiple options.

“We want to engage with consumers wherever they reside,” he said.

The most used games are “What Would They Pay,” “Style Opt” and “Sold!” With “What Would They Pay,” consumers are shown images of products and asked to rate what they think each different product costs—for example, a silver-plated watch versus a watch with a leather wristband.

“Style Opt” allows voting on styles, and “Sold!” provides a virtual storefront where consumers can stock new products and select price points. Feedback can help dictate pricing, as well as preferences toward specific merchandise.

Some stores provide the games via iPad on-site in their stores and reward the customer with a digital coupon for playing.

“Games are interesting because it’s the idea of getting people to do activities rather than an arduous task,” Petro said.

Consumers also like the idea of being in the know and receiving a “sneak peek” at unlaunched products, he explained. All of the games provide feedback within 72 hours, allowing brands and retailers to decide which merchandise they’re interested in producing or purchasing.