News Briefs

Starbucks is adding Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging to electrify more than 100 Starbucks stores across the country.  

Washington to California 

During the first phase of the program, high-power electric vehicle (EV) chargers will be installed at Starbucks stores along Interstate 5 on the West Coast. 

Chargers will be placed in core urban areas and charging deserts, and more locations will eventually be identified, including markets on the East Coast.  

“At Starbucks, we have a long history of bringing renewable and clean energy projects to connect communities that lack the infrastructure,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer. “Partnering with Mercedes is the next step in expanding our EV charging network so our customers can refuel sustainably while they enjoy Starbucks.”  

Driving Sustainability 

EV charging is one of Starbucks key strategies supporting its environmental promise to give more to the planet than we take. In the U.S. today, Starbucks customers can enjoy their favorite beverage while charging at more than 1,000 licensed and company-operated stores that have nearby access to nearby EV charging.  

In partnership with Mercedes-Benz, Starbucks continues to expand its own EV charging network to 100 more stores with the goal of bringing renewable energy and clean technology to more communities.  

Starbucks locations on the I-5 route will feature the Alpitronic Hypercharger 400, which are equipped with NACS cables and have the capability to support vehicles with a wide voltage range. 

“The collaboration between two leading brands like Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks will uplift the charging experience for all EV drivers,” said Andrew Cornelia, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging. “We envision a future where charging your vehicle is as easy as enjoying your favorite Starbucks.”  

 One of the goals of the collaboration is to seamlessly integrate the charging experience with the familiar and easy routine of grabbing a coffee, and make it available to drivers of all EV brands.  

PopID and Steak n Shake announced today that all Steak n Shake locations in the United States now accept PopID Check In (to review favorite orders and loyalty points) and PopPay for checkout. With more than 300 locations, Steak n Shake is the first national restaurant brand in the United States to adopt biometric check-in and checkout nationwide. PopID’s biometric check-in feature makes kiosk ordering faster, easier, and more personalized.

The implementation of PopID in every Steak n Shake location was accomplished rapidly and at low cost through a partnership between PopID and ACRELEC, a leading supplier of kiosk-ordering hardware and drive-through products. Cameras were shipped to every restaurant for attachment to the existing ACRELEC kiosks. “As explained in our recent publication, ACRELEC believes that our integrated biometric solution provides various benefits to restaurant operators related to throughput, ticket size, and loyalty engagement,” says Bruno Lo-Re, President of ACRELEC America.

“We are thrilled about our partnership with PopID and to be on the edge of biometric technology for the benefit of our customers. Our guests now have the option to use biometrics for a faster and more seamless experience,” says Sardar Biglari, Chairman of Biglari Holdings, the parent company of Steak n Shake.

Now that biometrics are enabled for all ordering and payment inside Steak n Shake restaurants, PopID and Steak n Shake will begin implementing biometric check-in and checkout at the restaurant’s drive-through units. “Similar to the kiosks, biometric check in can increase loyalty participation and revenue at the drive thru while also reducing payment processing costs,” says John Miller, CEO of PopID and Chairman of Cali Group. “Additionally, biometric payment at the order confirmation screen enables staff members to work on tasks other than taking payments by card and phone at the order pick-up window.”

Beef 'O' Brady's, the family sports bar and grill chain is colloaborating with SoundHoundAI to enable customers to place phone orders for pickup. The popular restaurant chain operates in more than 20 states across the US.

Initially live in all corporate locations — and now available for integration into franchises — SoundHound’s voice AI technology is trained on Beef 'O’Brady’s extensive menu and designed to understand regular human speech so that customers can order by speaking naturally.

The system is highly accurate, and even during busy periods the AI answers 100% of calls — including taking multiple orders simultaneously — allowing Beef 'O' Brady's staff to concentrate on preparing delicious meals and providing excellent service to in-store patrons.

• Related: Advances in AI Fix Common Customer Pain Points

Now, as the nation gears up for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Beef 'O' Brady's customers can enjoy the convenience of ordering their favorite meals seamlessly using SoundHound's automated AI ordering system. Whether hosting a viewing party at home, or enjoying the games with family, fans can be confident their phone orders will be captured and processed quickly and accurately.

Beyond taking orders, SoundHound’s AI technology can answer a variety of menu-related questions, provide information about specials and promotions, and handle inquiries about opening times, parking, allergens, and other frequently asked questions.

“At Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, we’re committed to innovation and customer satisfaction,” said Jason Saposnik, VP of Information Technology at Beef 'O' Brady's. “With SoundHound, we’re integrating cutting-edge AI technology to make ordering food as simple and natural as possible, allowing our staff to focus on what they do best — serving great food and experiences. We’re ensuring that every interaction with Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is smooth and enjoyable.”

SoundHound AI continues to expand its footprint in the restaurant industry, supported by a recent consumer study, commissioned by the company, revealing that nearly 80% of regular diners in the U.S. believe that AI voice assistants will handle most food ordering in the next few years. SoundHound’s voice AI solutions are already deployed in over 10,000 restaurant locations, with solutions for phone, drive-thru, kiosk, headset, and other devices. SoundHound also recently acquired Allset, an online ordering platform that connects restaurants and local customers, to further increase the company's restaurant industry relationships and reach.

“As consumer preferences shift towards convenience, optimizing the ordering experience is essential for restaurants,” said James Hom, Chief Product Officer at SoundHound AI. “Beef 'O' Brady's is leading the way in embracing AI technology, enhancing customer interactions throughout their journey. We are thrilled to partner with them to advance the dynamic restaurant landscape, and to continue to expand our footprint in the restaurant space.”

For more information about SoundHound AI’s restaurant solutions, visit www.soundhound.com.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is leveraging Domo’s Data Science Suite to gain further insights into the restaurant’s data, giving franchisees the ability to optimize pricing and model menu mix.

Founded in 2002 with a single restaurant in Wichita, Kansas, and franchised in 2004, Freddy’s has more than 500 locations in 36 states. 

Freddy's Data Science Journey

When the restaurant chain first began its data science journey, it not only struggled with a lack of technology but also a lack of perspective. The path of incorporating Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the business wasn’t well conceived, so its first pilot engagement with another platform did not successfully extract value or return on investment.

• Related:  83% say using data to understand guest preferences and behavior is impacting POS upgrade decisions in 2024, according to HT’s 2024 POS Software Trends Survey

After evaluating their experience with the pilot engagement, the restaurant chain knew it would need a different partner and approach to sell the initiative to the leadership team. As a long-time Domo customer, Freddy’s turned to Domo for the restaurant’s next attempt at data science. Freddy’s started working with Domo’s experienced data science consultants and set out to better understand its restaurant quality data so it could become more easily consumable.

“Before selecting Domo for our Data Science needs, we were too focused on accomplishing a goal and not on the quality of the journey. When we took a step back, we realized that the solution was right there in front of us: Domo has delivered great value for Freddy’s, and our C-suite trusted Domo with our data and business, so the Domo Data Science Suite was an easy choice,” said Sean Thompson, Vice President of IT at Freddy’s. “Our major takeaway from this experience is our invaluable, lasting partnership with Domo. When making these kinds of business decisions, we have to make sure we’re working with someone that not only has the data science chops but is willing to go along the journey with us and understands the importance of education and sharing.”

With Domo, Freddy’s quickly achieved several immediate wins and launched and optimized a new guest loyalty program to effectively incentivize its most high-value guests. In addition, the restaurant chain gained the ability to accurately score locations so it could conduct A/B testing initiatives like price optimization and menu mix modeling.

“Freddy’s saw the value of Domo when they first became a customer in 2015, but when they came to us for more data science needs, we were excited to support and give the talented team the confidence they needed to power data science insights,” said Mark Maughan, chief analytics officer and SVP of customer success at Domo. “With the number of guests Freddy’s serves daily, it’s important that they have the training and solutions they need to understand and leverage data at every Freddy’s location, and we are proud that they are using Domo as a critical part of that solution.”

To learn more about how innovative organizations like Freddy’s are using Domo to put data to work for everyone, visit www.domo.com/customers.

Olo Inc. announced Loyalty for Borderless Accounts, a new feature that allows guests to earn, redeem, and use rewards from a brand’s existing loyalty program through Olo’s seamless, passwordless guest checkout solution. Additional product capabilities are now available across all three solution suites: Order, Pay and Engage. 

Simplifying the Checkout Process 

Olo customers leveraging Borderless functionality can now make the checkout process even more enjoyable for guests with new capabilities that allow guests to create and link new or existing loyalty accounts directly to a new or existing Borderless account. Borderless simplifies the checkout process for guests by eliminating the need to remember a password or manually enter credit card information at every purchase across any participating Olo brand, helping restaurants meaningfully increase basket conversion, guest retention, and visit frequency while gaining valuable guest data.

• Olo's Innovator Makes Leap From Media to Product Marketing

“At Olo, we innovate to both anticipate and meet the needs of our restaurant customers, with the goal to help them drive sales and make every guest feel like a regular,” said Jo Lambert, Chief Operating Officer at Olo. “Loyalty for Borderless accounts allows our customers and their guests to take advantage of our exceptionally convenient checkout process while unifying rewards from their loyalty provider that keep them coming back for more. This feature and the 18 other cutting-edge capabilities launched this quarter further enhance Olo’s three solution suites designed to seamlessly work together as part of a larger flywheel to accelerate hospitality and business growth.”

More Product Enhancements 

Additional product enhancements introduced this quarter include Marketing A/B Testing for Email Campaigns, Catering+ Order Management, Order with Google Enhanced Redirect, and POS Menu Builder for brands using Toast.

• Olo Engage customers leveraging its Marketing solution can develop Marketing A/B Testing for Email Campaigns to seamlessly trial variations in subject lines or body content and ensure the best-converting messaging is deployed for guest engagement initiatives.
• Designed to retain high-value guests, Catering+ Enhanced Order Management empowers select customers using its intuitive phone order management tool, Switchboard, to apply a subtotal discount to catering orders in an effort to surprise and delight valuable guests and grow long-term loyalty. In addition, this functionality streamlines the payment process for delivery orders by allowing guests to pay using their personal device rather than verbally over the phone.
• Following Google transitioning its embedded ordering experience to redirected third-party providers, Olo created Order with Google Enhanced Redirect. This integration provides Google real-time location and menu updates, conversion tokens, and action links to help brands drive more direct orders, generate higher revenue, improve guest experiences, and gather more actionable, first-party guest data.
• Available to brands using Toast, Olo’s POS Menu Builder imports digital menus into the Olo platform in less than a day, accelerating the onboarding process for new customers while reducing the pain points that often come with switching online ordering platforms. It also allows existing customers to quickly launch new menu items across multiple owned and third-party ordering platforms.

To learn more about the features announced during Olo’s Summer Release event visit: https://www.olo.com/quarterly-release/summer-2024 and request a demo here: https://www.olo.com/contact/sales.