Checkers & Rally’s CMO: Rising Fuel Costs Demand Greater Drive-Thru Efficiency

The COVID-19 pandemic saw drive-thru orders soar, and while this rising demand provided a valuable opportunity for many restaurants, it also led to longer wait times, frustrating many consumers. Now, rising fuel costs are putting additional pressure on restaurant brands to offer a more streamlined drive-thru experience.

Related news: Quick-Service Restaurants Aim to Bring the ‘Quick’ Back to the Drive-Thru

“When someone pulls in, they want to be in and out very quickly. They don’t want to sit; they don’t want to idle,” Dwayne Chambers, chief marketing officer at Checkers & Rally’s Drive-In Restaurants, said in an interview with PYMNTS. “Literally, as gas prices go up, that time is money when they’re driving, and so I think you’re going to see a lot more people ordering ahead, where they don’t even have to stop at the drive-thru … It’s already paid for. It’s done. And they’re going to whip through, at least at our place. It may be different at some of the other restaurants.”

Chambers also predicts that menus will continue to be streamlined to just the most in-demand, most efficiently prepared items and that own-device ordering through mobile voice assistants will advance to the point where consumers can frictionlessly place their orders in advance.

The AI Drive-Thru

Checkers & Rally’s announced in January the rollout of an artificial intelligence (AI) automated voice-based order-taking system across the chain’s drive-thru restaurants.

“People are obviously becoming much more accustomed to automation,” Chambers said. “We’ve gotten really very few … complaints. … Guests seem to be doing quite well with it.”

Two-thirds of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) offer the ability to pick up orders at the drive-thru, according to data from PYMNTS’ 2022 Restaurant Friction Index, created collaboration with Paytronix. The study, which drew from a survey of more than 500 managers of quick-service and full-service restaurants, also found that about half of all restaurants provide the option, and about two-thirds of those that do not plan to invest in offering drive-thru pickup in the future.

See also: New Data Show Digital Loyalty Programs Are Key Differentiator For Top-Performing Restaurants

Plus, the Index also drew from a survey of a census-balanced panel of more than 2,100 U.S. consumers conducted in October. The results of this survey revealed that 35% of consumers say that they would be more inclined to purchase from restaurants that offer the ability to pick up orders at the drive-thru.

A New View of Loyalty

When it comes to digital loyalty, Chambers notes that Checkers and Rally’s has seen a shift in what consumers are looking for from a purely points-based model toward one that provides more special offers.

“For the longest time, everything was built around rewards points, which tend to still be important, but not as critical,” he said. “Really what they want, it feels like right now, particularly with our guests, is they’re wanting … more deals in wallet.”

Research from the August 2021 edition of Delivering on Restaurant Rewards, created in collaboration with Paytronix, which drew from a census-balanced survey of more than 2,000 United States consumers, found that 81% of restaurant customers consider the availability of complimentary foods at quick service restaurants (QSRs) when deciding whether to sign up for loyalty programs. Additionally, 66% consider the availability of customized coupons or discounts.

Read more: Two-Thirds Of Consumers Find Restaurant Rewards Impersonal

It is possible that, in the months since this survey was conducted, as inflation has continued to rise, demand for deals has increased.

“It’s not just about collecting points,” Chambers said, “but really getting of special offers deals, special insights, potentially, advanced trial of some new products, those types of things feel … a lot more [important].”

In fact, research from the Index finds that loyalty programs are the single most in-demand feature, the one that the greatest share of consumers say would boost purchases. The study revealed that 43% of consumers say that they would be more inclined to shop with restaurants that offered a loyalty or rewards program. Indeed, the feature ranked above online ordering and payment ability and above various pickup channels as a motivator of spending.

Connect the Dots

As brands look to boost their loyalty offerings, Chambers believes that all the hype around use of data has come at the cost of other means of getting to know the consumer.

“Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves on how smart we think we are because we’ve collected all of this consumer data, but it doesn’t necessarily always tell us why someone’s doing what they’re doing,” he said. “[We talk] to guests from a qualitative standpoint to help understand why they’re changing the behaviors that are changing and what’s the most important to them.”

Still, his vision of the future has data playing a core role. He expects restaurants’ various technologies will become better integrated, such that the drive-thru will be able to recognize customers and make suggestions based on their previous orders, and AI will automate inventory management, informed by sales information.

“We have the ability to connect those dots to make things very efficient for the guests as well as for the team members,” he said. “All of those things together — that’s really the starting point.”