Restaurants Have Opportunity to Boost Digital Engagement During Work Week

With many consumers ordering food online while at work, restaurants can target these customers’ workday needs to drive digital adoption.

By the Numbers

According to research from a new national PYMNTS study of more than 4,600 consumers for the “How We Will Pay” report, 85% said they used connected devices while at work, and 33% said they did so to order food from restaurants — a greater share than ordered from restaurants when performing other day-to-day tasks.

As such, restaurants that can reach these workday customers have the chance to win their loyalty by offering quick meals for consumers on deadline; promising convenient delivery to, or pickup from, major business districts; or offering lunch hour specials.

The Data in Context

Some restaurants and aggregators alike are looking to work with employers to capture this workday spending.

For instance, health-focused fast-casual chain Sweetgreen has its Outpost program, through which companies can set up pickup points in the office building for Sweetgreen orders, and employees can buy a meal to be dropped off without paying for delivery. This business has been performing well.

“Our B2B channel, consisting of Outposts and catering, more than doubled year over year in the second quarter,” Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman told analysts late last month on the restaurant’s most recent earnings call. “We continue to invest in these channels because they provide opportunities for significant incremental orders from new and existing customers.”

Last year, restaurant aggregator Grubhub announced the launch of a program for employers to offer employees a line of credit for meal purchases — a Grubhub Pay Card — placing limits on when or where it is used, as part of the company’s Corporate Accounts business.

“This card meets employees wherever they are, whether ordering from their go-to lunch spot on Grubhub, in-person at a local favorite restaurant, or grabbing groceries on the way home from the office,” Jeff Mirmelstein, vice president and general manager of corporate accounts at Grubhub, said in a statement at the time.