Today in Food Commerce: McDonald’s Pilots UK Loyalty Program; Albertsons Sees Digital Growth

McDonald's Drive-Thru

Today in food commerce, McDonald’s launches its MyMcDonald’s Rewards program in 10 restaurants across the North of England, while Albertsons sees digital sales continue to rise. Plus, PYMNTS data reveals how restaurants can best leverage their digital investments to boost spending.

UK Rewards Programs Increase as McDonald’s Pilots Loyalty Scheme

Loyalty and reward schemes are very popular with United Kingdom customers and McDonald’s is the latest company to cash in on the growing trend. Starting Monday (Jan. 10), the quick-service restaurant (QSR) giant will be piloting its MyMcDonald’s Rewards program in 10 restaurants across the North of England, as part of plans to roll out the scheme to an additional 65 restaurants by the end of the month, and nationwide by the end of the year.

Albertsons’ Mobile Updates See Sales Continue to Trend Upward 

On the strength of its digital investments, Albertsons continues to see its sales rise not only over pre-pandemic levels but also over late-2020, mid-quarantine highs. In the quarter ended Dec. 4, which followed on the heels of the grocer’s launch of a new app back in August, the grocer’s loyalty program membership grew 17% to 28 million.

Data Shows Restaurants Can Boost Spending With Ordering Tech, Loyalty Programs

When consumers engage with restaurants today, they expect to be met with digital features enabling simple and convenient transactions. However, not all technologies go an equally long way in boosting consumers’ spending. Ordering and fulfillment features are top priority for many, according to data from PYMNTS’ new study, Digital Divide: Minding The Loyalty Gap, created in collaboration with Paytronix.

Study Reveals Grocers Lag Behind Restaurants in Driving Digital Payment Adoption

As digital wallets catch on as a way to pay for prepared food orders, grocers are not seeing the same uptick in as restaurants, according to data from the January 2022 edition of PYMNTS’ study Digital Economy Payments: How U.S. Shoppers Paid During The Holiday Season, which surveyed a census-balanced panel of more than 3,000 United States adults about their purchases over the previous month.

Report Shows Independent QSRs Struggle to Keep Customers Coming Back

Many consumers love dining out, but not all restaurants are able to build the kind of deeper relationships with customers that take their spending to the next level. While consumers keep returning to chain table-service restaurants, for instance, independent quick-service restaurants (QSRs) have more difficulty turning their customers into loyal fans, according to data from PYMNTS’ new study, Digital Divide: Minding The Loyalty Gap, created in collaboration with Paytronix.