McDonald's Plans Nationwide Loyalty Launch

McDonald's first nationwide loyalty program, MyMcDonald’s Rewards, will be available via the McDonald’s app at participating restaurants on July 8.

Guests will earn 100 points for every one dollar spent on qualifying purchases. And to kick off the loyalty program, users will automatically get 1,500 points after their first order. (That's enough points to snag hash browns, a vanilla cone, a McChicken or a cheeseburger.) 

The global QSR has been piloting the loyalty program in the U.S., and it is “one key lever in reaching our digital ambition,” said CEO Chris Kempczinski in a Q1 ’21 earnings call with analysts.

“What inspires me the most about our digital transformation is that we constantly have the opportunity and ability to become even more relevant in our customers' everyday routines. The power of our ‘growth pillars’ come to life not in isolation but in combination,” said Kempczinski.(McDonald’s growth pillars are the 3Ds -- digital, delivery and drive-thru.)

During Q1 '21, U.S. digital sales approached $1.5 billion and active app users topped 20 million.

Now with a loyalty on the brink of nationwide expansion, what does this venerable brand stand to gain?  McDonald's has been investing in technology to ramp up efficiencies and gain data insights. Back in 2019, McDonald’s acquired Dynamic Yield and conversational technology company Apprente. In 2019, McDonald’s began rolling out Dynamic Yield’s machine learning technology that makes suggestions based on time of day, weather and popular menu items. And last month, McDonald's began using voice-ordering technology in 10 of its drive-thrus in Chicago.

More Data, Please

HT caught up with Paytronix CEO Andrew Robbins who says the endgame is to use AI to predict guest behavior and to fashion the next best offer that generates incremental activity. 

Robbins has written the following blog, which zeroes in on what McDonald’s will hope to achieve. McLoyalty: One of world’s largest QSR brands enters the loyalty arena