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Consumers Continue To Favor Restaurant Chains That Offer Rewards, Convenience
The days of punch cards and in-person ordering are fading, as eaters all over the nation have created a permanent demand in the food franchise world for ordering apps, loyalty points and total convenience.
The pandemic had every industry scrambling for ways to best accommodate the public in a safe and healthy way. In particular, the food and beverage industry had to rethink the way it would meet consumer demands indefinitely. These measures taken out of precaution due to COVID-19 ended up being the “no-contact” convenience that grew the public’s love and demand of a fast-food world run by digital convenience.
Digital Ordering
QSR cited this digital ordering as the longest-lasting trend, as consumers were already embracing the “order ahead” pickup and delivery pre-pandemic, but lockdowns only grew the demand.
To expand on the demand for digital ordering and the role it plays in a couple of the top chains in the U.S., consider the following QSR statistic: In the first quarter of 2021, Starbucks reported 26% of its $4.6 billion U.S. sales were via the Starbucks app, and Chipotle reported a 49% percent of its Q2 2021 revenue was via digital channels.
These data points show how prominent digital ordering was throughout 2021, but the demand isn’t going anywhere. Even as stores re-open for in-person dining as more people get vaccinated, these numbers continue to trend at the same rate.
Rewards for Patronage
Those wallets full of half-full punch cards are disappearing, and more people than ever are getting their free grande latte from Starbucks. People value being valued, and the most successful chains have identified this. By keeping track of their points on an app, a customer is more likely to grab coffee at Starbucks than a competitor because that customer is being rewarded, one star per $1.
Inferior reward systems are a dealbreaker, with over half of customers between the ages of 25 and 40 saying they’ll stop ordering from a restaurant if there is a competitor that offers better.
Earning rewards is one thing; being able to redeem them automatically and easily is another. These are both defining preferences of customers who frequent loyalty apps.
Convenience Over Everything
The premise of a chain restaurant is convenience, so it’s not a long shot for consumers to want more of this from their favorite chains and seek it at any given location. A customer takes comfort knowing that the welcoming “Welcome to Moe’s!” in Atlanta will be the same in Dallas.
Most of the time, consumers are assured of what they are getting at their favorites and will choose them because of familiarity. A recent survey suggested that, if it were convenient, over 70% of Starbucks customers would support an independent business instead of a corporation. These independent operations or regional chains don’t have the loyalty established with a large sector of consumers, and that is a quality largely desired these days.
There are occasions when consumers' purchase decisions might be geared toward independent locations. Consumers aren’t altogether abandoning the notion of supporting small and local, but, generally speaking, ambiance, experience and the satisfaction of supporting small businesses take a back seat to having limited time.
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*This brand is a paid partner of 1851 Franchise. For more information on paid partnerships please click here.
