How Restaurants Can Optimize Curbside & Drive-Thru

With mobile order ahead and mobile payment, the drive-thru is becoming contactless. 

Rethinking Traditional Drive-Thru

Large QSR brands with drive-thrus in place are not resting on their existing tech stack. McDonald’s has been setting the pace when it comes to investing in technology. Last year the global QSR closed several tech acquisitions: voice-based, conversational technology company Apprente, personalization and decision logic technology Dynamic Yield (which is being used in drive-thrus and on digital menu boards across the U.S. and Australia), and Plexure, a mobile app vendor.

These investments build on several key technology initiatives McDonald's has introduced in recent years to improve the employee and customer experience, especially at its Experience of the Future stores. With mobile order ahead and mobile payment, the drive-thru is becoming contactless. 

In 2021, about 70% of all new Chipotles will have a Chipotlane digital drive-thru.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is among the brands that have updated its expansion plans to respond to the demand for increased off-prem. Earlier this year, Chipotle said it was looking to double the number of Chipotlanes, its drive-thru for digital orders, but that number was ratcheted up based on sales performance. For 2020, about 60% of new stores will have Chipotlanes, and the goal is to top 70% in 2021.  Where possible, existing stores are being retrofitted with drive-thrus.

Here's why: “…The mix of higher-margin order ahead and pickup transactions has more than doubled for these restaurants (with Chipotlanes) as compared to the pre-COVID time frame,” CFO Jack Hartung said in an earnings call with analysts.

The brand has invested in the infrastructure to expedite off-prem, first and foremost, like Starbucks, the brand has a rad mobile app. Most all Chipotle locations have a second make line for digital orders and have shelves for to-go orders. Chipotle continues to innovate its digital pick-up experience, and has introduced walk-up windows at multiple locations in dense urban areas and other stores where drive-thrus are not possible.

Starbucks is closing 400 corporate locations in the U.S. and Canada, but is planning to open 300 new stores, including pickup-only stores in densely populated urban areas, during the current fiscal year. Select stores will be remodeled; a separate counter for mobile order pickup will be added.

Prior to COVID-19, Starbucks says approximately 80% of U.S. transactions were on-the-go, driven in part by the ability to order and pay ahead using the Starbucks app. As consumers continue to seek out contactless and convenient transactions, Starbucks says it will continue to leverage its mobile ordering and payment app and drive engagement with its 19.4 million Starbucks Rewards members.

Curbside pickup has been offered by restaurants, including Dine Brands  and Bloomin’ Brands, for eons, but it is soaring to new levels during the pandemic. As part of its Experience of the Future stores, McDonald’s began adding designated curbside pickup spots for mobile order pickup. In recent months, brands of all sizes and formats have been adding curbside including Cousins Subs, Dickey’s Barbecue, Domino’s, Dunkin’ and Panera Bread.

“Curbside pickup is quickly taking over as the new normal, and in a lot of ways it serves as an expansion of the traditional drive-thru,” says Rick Smith, director, business development for self-service and kiosk, Elo Touch (elotouch.com). “Over the years, the industry has made tremendous efforts to increase order accuracy while improving speed of service in the drive-thru lane, and it is now crucial that restaurant operators gain every advantage possible, both in the lane and at curbside, as outdoor business will continue to increase.”

In most all cases, curbside and other contactless services are being powered through the brand’s mobile app.

Adding new channels is a complicated process, agrees Famous Dave's Senior Vice President of Operations Al Hank. “When people say curbside is just the act of bringing food to the car, there’s much more involved,” he says.

Domino’s Pizza CEO Ritch Allison also commented on the mountain of work done behind the scenes to roll out and ramp up contactless services and reduce friction points. Domino’s spent much of Q2 “retooling almost 60 years of standard operating procedures and doing that over a matter of weeks,” admitted Allison during an earnings call with analysts. “Our teams and franchisees have done an outstanding job of implementing many things rather quickly, including protocols around contactless delivery, … the roll out of Domino's car side delivery, which provides an incredibly convenient and contact-free carryout experience for our customers, and many digital enhancements that our teams have developed to make ordering, selecting service methods, paying and tipping even easier.”

Here’s how it works:

When ordering online, customers select curbside, and note their vehicle’s color, make and model, which will be used to identify them when they arrive at the store. When they arrive, they hit the “I’m here” button on the Tracker page or in the app. Domino’s customers can also reply “HERE” to Domino’s opt-in text. Once alerted to their presence, a team member from the store will bring the order to their vehicle.

Panera Bread has put its curbside technology on steroids, adding geofencing technology and expanding Wi-Fi to let restaurant staff know when a curbside customer has arrived. An employee is alerted automatically and brings the order to the vehicle. Customers who don’t opt-in to the geofencing can still alert staff to their arrival by hitting the “I’m here” button in the app. 

Select Starbucks are offering curbside pickup. As with similar solutions, customers use the Starbucks App to order and pay ahead as well as check-in at designated parking spots at the store once they arrive. Over the coming months, Starbucks said it will increase the number of stores that offer Curbside pickup as well as pilot a select number of locations to exclusively offer this format. 

This increased efficiency is a win-win for brands and their customers. “In the new world, as it emerges, we are focused on how we can best serve our customers and meet them where they are,” said Panera Bread CEO Niren Chaudhary.