NEW REPORT: Why Five Guys Says Mobile Order-Ahead Is All About The KISS

Restaurants that want to deliver a great — not just good — mobile order-ahead experience may want to consider the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid, that is). At least that seems to be the case when it comes to mobile order-ahead apps these days.

The latest PYMNTS.com Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker, powered by LevelUp, features news on restaurants around the space introducing new mobile ordering solutions designed to give customers a simpler, more convenient ordering experience.

Around the Mobile Order-Ahead World

There’s no shortage of reasons why restaurateurs would want their eateries to join the mobile-ordering movement.

With the delivery space worth billions of dollars and diners increasingly making decisions based on mobile ordering options, mobile and digital ordering as a whole have become a major revenue driver in the restaurant industry — so it comes as no surprise that some of the biggest names in the industry have invested in new mobile ordering technology.

Au Bon Pain, for instance, recently became the latest QSR franchise to debut mobile ordering options, with the launch of ABP Pickup — the company’s new line-busting, mobile order-ahead service. And Burger King has been testing mobile payments in the Miami area, with sights on a larger scale rollout. According to reports, it’s likely there will be a national rollout of mobile ordering and payments in the coming months at BK.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s is racing to add mobile ordering services but is being slowed down by the massive scale of its business. Farhan Siddiqi, VP of digital experiences at McDonald’s, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster that the company is currently building an initial ordering platform that will allow for continual updates with new technology and features.

Why Five Guys Keeps It Simple

But while Burger King and McDonald’s ready their systems for launch, some burger chains have been in the mobile order-ahead game for years. In a recent interview with PYMNTS for the May Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker feature story, Molly Catalano, vice president of marketing for the chain Five Guys Burgers & Fries, said the company designed its app in 2011 to give a simple ordering experience and has since stayed true to that mission.

“The aim was to make it as simple and straightforward as possible, and customers have really responded to that,” she said. “The app is really geared toward ordering, and the biggest benefit is that time-saving aspect. When they’ve arrived, they’ve already paid, they’ve already placed a customized order, they just need to check in with the cashier, which eliminates a lot of the hassle that comes with placing an order.”

To read the story, as well as the latest news and trends from the mobile order-ahead space and profiles and scores for more than 30 of the biggest players in the space, check out this month’s Tracker.

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To download the May edition of the PYMNTS.com Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker, powered by LevelUp, click the button below.

About the Tracker

The PYMNTS Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker, powered by LevelUp, serves as a monthly framework for the space, providing coverage of the most recent news and trends, along with a provider directory highlighting the key players contributing across the segments that comprise the mobile order-ahead ecosystem.