Insights & News on Loyalty, Personalization & Promotions | Eagle Eye

Gamification in Loyalty: How Eagle Eye Is Powering Engagement

Written by Billy McLintock | 27 August, 2025

As Forrester’s Loyalty Platforms Landscape, Q3 2025 highlights, long-term customer loyalty isn’t built on points and discounts alone. Today’s consumers expect more in the shape of ongoing engagement, emotional resonance, and personalized experiences that go beyond the transactional.

At Eagle Eye, we couldn’t agree more. That’s why our product team has been busy doing what they do best - playing. Well, building, technically. But with gamification front and centre, it’s fair to say they’ve been having some fun.

Why Gamification Matters in Loyalty Programs

Traditional loyalty models rely heavily on discounts and points, but customers now expect more meaningful engagement. Gamification introduces fun, challenge, and progress into loyalty programs, encouraging repeat behavior while deepening emotional connections. By turning everyday interactions into rewarding experiences, retailers can build loyalty that lasts.

Quest Campaigns: Driving Engagement Beyond Points

In 2024, Eagle Eye launched Quest Campaigns, a gamified promotion format that challenges customers to complete objectives across one or multiple visits to unlock rewards. Over 7 million quests were completed by customers last year, showing just how powerful this mechanic can be. If you’re in the UK, you may have seen McDonald's Side Missions in summer 2025 - a prime example of a quest style mechanic gaining mainstream traction.

McDonald’s Side Missions: A gamified app experience offering daily rewards, exclusive offers, and weekend prize opportunities.

Sequential Quests: Step-by-Step Customer Journeys

Our latest innovation is Sequential Quests. Unlike standard quests, where objectives can be completed in any order, sequential quests guide customers step-by-step, unlocking each new stage only once the previous one is complete - much like leveling up in a game. This allows retailers to nudge specific behaviors such as:

  • Discovering new product categories
  • Increasing visit frequency
  • Gradually growing basket size

Because customers can see future objectives (but not yet unlock them), they stay motivated to keep progressing, driving stronger engagement over time.

Smarter Stamp Cards: Beyond Transactions

Stamp cards remain a proven mechanic for driving frequency and spend. We’ve taken this classic format and evolved it,  better aligned to today’s consumer. With Smarter Stamp Cards, customers can now earn bonus stamps for non-transactional actions, such as:

  • Updating preferences
  • Watching a video
  • Scanning a QR code
  • Following your brand on social media

It was already possible to create non-transactional promotions through our social and behavioural offers, but you can now combine this mechanic with your stamp card proposition (and quests too).

This low-friction approach keeps customers engaged between purchases. They get to feel like they’re progressing faster without spending a penny, and retailers get more of what matters - first-party data, digital adoption, and greater participation in their loyalty program.

A digital loyalty stamp card turns everyday coffee purchases into rewards, driving repeat visits and customer engagement.

Reward Banks: Personalization with Automated Thresholds

Modern loyalty must also deliver personalization. Eagle Eye’s Reward Banks allow customers to choose their own rewards, enhancing satisfaction and perceived value. We’ve now added Automated Points Thresholds, making it easier than ever to drive milestone-based engagement:

  1. A customer reaches a pre-defined points milestone
  2. A Reward Bank link is triggered automatically
  3. They gain access to curated offers, experiences, or rewards

It’s an elegant way to nudge customers toward key personalized milestones and drive app engagement through seamless rewarding experiences in the moment.

FAQs: Gamification in Loyalty Programs

Transform Your Loyalty Program with Gamification

Eagle Eye’s gamification tools are designed to build meaningful loyalty, not just transactional loyalty. Whether you want to drive frequency, increase spend, or gather better data, our platform can help you achieve it.

Explore our gamification tools or book a demo today.