2025 was a pivotal year for PAR Engagement.
Across the Engagement Cloud, we released products that didn’t just add features — they removed friction, unified data, and helped restaurants build deeper relationships with guests. Together, these launches formed a connected ecosystem where identity, loyalty, ordering, offers, and operations all work in concert.
Below is a look back at the major releases that defined the year, and how they’re already reshaping digital engagement for restaurants.
- Guest Identity: One Profile Across Every Touchpoint
In 2025, Guest Identity took a major step forward in how restaurants understand and recognize their guests.
Instead of fragmented accounts and duplicate records spread across ordering, loyalty, and marketing systems, Guest Identity brings everything together into a single, living profile. Every interaction — from mobile wallet use to online orders to in-store redemptions — contributes to a unified understanding of the guest.
This doesn’t just improve data hygiene. It enables truly connected engagement. Teams gain a reliable “source of truth” they can use to personalize offers, understand behavior trends, and measure outcomes with confidence. Identity became the backbone that powers everything else on this list.
- Advanced Authentication: Goodbye Password Fatigue
Passwords have long been one of the biggest points of friction in the guest journey. In 2025, we solved that problem.
Advanced Authentication introduced modern, password-free login options that make it easier and more secure for guests to access apps and websites. One-time passcodes and magic links replace long password resets and lockout issues, dramatically reducing frustration.
Guests simply log in and continue their experience. Meanwhile, brands benefit from fewer support tickets and stronger security controls without creating barriers to engagement. It’s a win on both sides of the counter.
- Guest Segmentation: Seeing the Whole Guest Base, Not Just Loyalty Members
For years, restaurant marketing has centered on loyalty members because they’re easy to track and personalize to. But today, a large share of guests place digital orders, browse apps, or pick up curbside without ever enrolling in loyalty — and those interactions used to be hard to see.
In 2025, Guest Segmentation expanded that view. Using digital ordering data from platforms like PAR Ordering, brands can now build profiles and segment guests based on real behavior, even before they join loyalty. That means identifying first-time digital guests, recognizing repeat purchasers who haven’t enrolled yet, and understanding patterns across the entire guest base.
The impact is straightforward: marketers aren’t limited to loyalty members anymore. They can personalize earlier in the journey, measure ROI more accurately, and convert more anonymous guests into loyal customers over time.
- PAR Games: Turning Engagement Into an Experience
One of the most fun releases of the year was PAR Games.
Restaurants now have built-in ways to deliver gamified experiences such as scratch-offs, spins, reveals, and interactive challenges, all tied directly to loyalty and offers. Games are not an add-on layer; they’re fully integrated into the Engagement Cloud ecosystem.
This shift matters because it changes how guests interact with brands. Instead of engagement driven solely by discounts, guests return because the experience itself is enjoyable. In many cases, brands are seeing increased app activity, deeper loyalty participation, and greater first-party data capture, all because the experience feels more like play than promotion.
- PAR Catering: Enterprise Catering for a New Era of Digital Demand
With PAR Catering, restaurants now have an enterprise-grade solution designed specifically for large and scheduled orders, corporate catering, and event-based dining. Catering is fully connected to guest data and loyalty, turning large order purchasers into long-term digital relationships rather than anonymous transactions.
This gives brands visibility into who is ordering, how often, and through which channels, while also supporting complex operational needs. As corporate offices, teams, and events continue to grow demand for catering, restaurants now have the infrastructure to capture it strategically rather than opportunistically.
- Smart Passes: The Digital Wallet Became the New Loyalty Home
Smart Passes was one of the most talked-about launches of the year.
Instead of requiring guests to download an app on day one, Smart Passes let them join and interact with loyalty directly inside Apple and Google Wallet. Rewards, identity, and membership information update live in the wallet, right alongside boarding passes and credit cards. Location-aware notifications can even remind guests of offers when they’re near a restaurant.
This dramatically reduces friction in enrollment and re-engagement. For brands, it means loyalty lives where consumers already spend time — the mobile wallet they open constantly throughout the day. For guests, it just feels natural and immediate.
- Menu Import: Faster Setup and Less Manual Work
Menu management has traditionally been one of the most time-consuming parts of menu management In 2025, we changed that.
With Menu Import, brands can now bring menus into Ordering faster and with far less manual work—speeding up onboarding, reducing errors, and giving teams more control over updates. What once required heavy spreadsheet manipulation or repeated data entry can now be handled in a streamlined, guided process.
The impact shows up immediately during new store launches and menu refreshes. Teams spend less time wrestling with formatting and more time focusing on strategy, pricing, and guest experience. It’s a behind-the-scenes enhancement that removes friction from day-to-day operations while ensuring menus stay accurate everywhere they appear.
A Year That Built the Foundation for What Comes Next
Taken together, the 2025 releases share a common theme: connection
Identity became unified. Authentication became easier. Segmentation became smarter. Games made engagement joyful. Wallet passes brought loyalty into daily life. Catering expanded revenue streams. Menu tools reduced operational drag.
Each release is powerful on its own, but together, they form a modern engagement platform designed for how restaurants really operate today.
And 2026 will build on that momentum.
