QSRs have become a sweet spot for mobile ordering with coffee and pizza shops leading the way. In the coffee category, Starbucks set an early and fast pace, but Dunkin’ has been making significant moves to narrow the gap.
Leveraging mobile ordering’s rising popularity with on-the-move consumers, Dunkin’ has expanded mobile ordering to include customers who are not in its loyalty program. This becomes a hook to generate more loyalty members who can then receive rewards and customized offers from Dunkin’.
So far, results appear to be encouraging as both mobile volume and repeat customers have increased. The takeaway from this story is that integrating mobile app features of order and pay, loyalty, and personalized offers will drive customer engagement and higher sales.
A QSR Magazine article, excerpted below, discusses more on the topic:
When Stephanie Meltzer-Paul joined Dunkin’ about a year and half ago, she noticed roadblocks in the brand’s loyalty program. Essentially, the company was constricting the top of its funnel and creating barriers to entry and usage. In today’s digital space, especially among breakfast and coffee quick-serves—where Dunkin’s top competitor boasts close to 18 million rewards members—the issue was an urgent one.
Dunkin’ has made no shortage of investments over the past year, with espresso and its $100 million beverage-led transformation grabbing most of the headlines. But the brand has also spent heavy resources on bolstering digital assets, and the results really just started to materialize in September. Meltzer-Paul, Dunkin’s VP of digital and loyalty marketing, spearheaded two key changes: multi-tender payment for DD Perks members (where they can now earn rewards no matter how they pay, including cash, credit, debit or the previously used enrolled Dunkin’ card), and guest ordering for Mobile On-The-Go. Now, customers who aren’t Perks members also have access to mobile ordering through Dunkin’s app.
Chief executive officer David Hoffmann said Thursday the company is starting to see “some positive green shoots” from the updates. Tests showed multi-tender drove incremental active enrollment with no material impact to margins, and is expanding membership while also enabling more targeted marketing. Dunkin’ ended the third quarter with more than 12 million (there are about 12.7 million today) loyalty members, contributing roughly 13 percent of rooftop sales.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group