Article

5 ways to boost the fast casual mobile experience

The most successful fast casual establishments are leveraging mobile technology to forge stronger relationships with their customers.

January 14, 2016

By Greg Burch, VP of Strategic Initiatives, U.S. for Ingenico Group

An increasing number of fast casual establishments are leveraging mobile technology to forge stronger relationships with their customers.

Here are the Top 5 ways we see that happening today.

1. Mobile wallets/payments:Giving customers the ability to pay using a mobile payment solution, such as Apple Pay, Android Pay or a custom solution, can speed transaction times and help boost business.   Our restaurant merchants and partners believe these solutions are especially important to capture business from Millennial card holders, who number 80 million and come with $200 billion in annual spending power. A recent JWTstudy found that 44 percent of Millennialsprefer to pay for goods and services using their mobile phone rather than with cash, particularly for smaller purchases. Jersey Mike’s is one fast casual restaurant that offers a mobile appwith built-in mobile payment capabilities, to take advantage of this consumer preference.

2. Mobile order-ahead capabilities:The decision to dine at a fast casual restaurant is often last-minute. Restaurants that offer order-ahead capability can help lock in customers, and offering it from a mobile app, means customers can order on the fly at the point of inspiration.  Many fast casual restaurants, including Jersey Mike’s and Chipotle, already offer this capability

3. Enhanced engagement:  Restaurants are researching how to use mobile technology and big data to tighten the relationship and improve the experience with consumers that download the restaurant-branded mobile application.  This includes the ability to use geolocation and loyalty data to send users offers based on location, time of day and personal preferences.  A loyal user doesn’t just receive a generic coupon offer, but an offer tailored to their personal preferences for dinner while they are driving home from work.  Another example use case is the mobile application changing the user experience when they walk into the restaurant by presenting custom data such as nutrition information, menu specials, gaming and custom media content matching the user’s interests.

4. Linebusting:Linebusting is the practice of sending employees equipped with mobile ordering and payment acceptance devices out from behind the counter into a line of customers, to take customer orders and payments before they reach the counter.  These mobile POS, or mPOS, devices are a way to shorten lines, speed service and improve the customer experience. It’s common in retail, and starting to emerge in the fast food and fast casual environments.  

5. Out-of-store service and payments:mPOS devices also enable a number of out-of-storecapabilities including curbside delivery, catering, out-of-restaurant special events and even home delivery. Subway is one fast casual chain successfully leveraging mPOS technology, primarily for catering and community events.  Thisnot only expands and streamlines general service capabilities, but also offers the opportunity to upsell products and services at the point of remote service without sacrificing security or card-present transaction rates.

Has your fast casual restaurant experienced success in leveraging mobile technologies? Share your experiences below.