Agoda, a leading travel booking platform, faces challenges in maintaining high user engagement and retention within its mobile app. In the competitive travel industry, user engagement plays a crucial role in driving repeat bookings and long-term loyalty. Agoda sought a solution to enhance app interaction and create a more engaging experience for its users.

My original hypothesis was that if Agoda integrates gamification elements into its mobile app, then user engagement and retention rates will increase, particularly among its millennial traveler segment.

Competitor analysis revealed that leading travel apps like Booking.com and Expedia leverage loyalty programs, while indirect competitors such as Duolingo and Starbucks use gamification to drive engagement. Industry trends show that reward-based engagement strategies lead to higher retention rates.

Title: Millennial TravelersPersonas: Individuals who exhibit low engagement with travel apps despite having an interest in travel deals.Age: 22-35Location: Southeast AsiaIncome Level: Low to MediumInterests: Mobile apps, digital rewards, affordable travelPain Points: Lack of engaging features in travel appsMotivations: Earning rewards and discounts on bookings

• 45% of surveyed users indicated they would use a travel app more frequently if it offered incentives.

• A common complaint was that travel apps feel transactional rather than engaging.

• Users prefer interactive elements like spin-the-wheel discounts over static loyalty programs.

• User downloads and opens the Agoda app.

• Browses through listings but finds no reason to engage frequently.

• Books a stay and leaves the app until the next travel plan arises.

• Agoda misses opportunities to drive engagement between trips.

• Competitors use loyalty and gamification strategies to drive retention.

• Users respond well to interactive rewards and incentives.

• Millennials prefer dynamic engagement over passive discounts.

Agoda’s app lacks engaging features, leading to low retention and reduced booking frequency among millennial travelers.

• User Perspective: Provide engaging, rewarding interactions that encourage repeat app usage.

• Business Perspective: Increase retention and lifetime value through gamification.

• Quantitative Measure: Improve daily active users (DAU) by 30% and retention rate by 20% within six months.

• Daily Check-in Rewards: Encourages habit formation and frequent app usage.

• Spin-the-Wheel Discounts: Adds an element of surprise to incentivize bookings.

• Referral-Based Challenges: Drives organic growth through user referrals.

• 70% of users reported increased interest in daily check-in rewards.

• Spin-the-wheel discounts led to a 15% boost in booking intent.

• Referral challenges increased app installs by 25% in A/B testing.

Agoda implemented a gamified rewards system featuring daily check-in bonuses, interactive spin-the-wheel discounts, and referral incentives. This created an engaging user experience, leading to increased retention and repeat bookings.

Phase 1: A/B testing with a subset of users to measure engagement impact.

Phase 2: Full rollout with in-app announcements and email marketing.

Phase 3: Continuous iteration based on user feedback and analytics.

Measuring Success

North Star Metric

Increase in daily active users (DAU) by 30%

Leading & Lagging Indicators

Leading: Daily engagement rate, referral participation, discount redemption.

Lagging: Retention rate, lifetime value per user, revenue impact.

Counter Metrics

Decline in non-gamified feature usage.

Potential negative feedback on too many notifications.

Monitoring Metrics

Automated tracking of user engagement trends.

Customer support feedback loops.

Future Iterations

Expansion of reward-based tiers for high-frequency users.

Personalized gamification based on travel behavior.

Social leaderboards to foster community engagement.

Agoda’s gamification initiative successfully transformed the mobile app experience for millennial travelers. By introducing engaging, interactive features, Agoda boosted retention, increased repeat bookings, and strengthened its market position. Future iterations will refine the gamification approach, ensuring long-term user engagement and business growth.