NEW REPORT: Why QSRs Are Taking The Mobile Order Ahead Plunge

With the mobile order-ahead market projected to be worth $55 billion in the next five years, it is now certainly more than just a flash in the (frying) pan.

In the January edition of the Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker , PYMNTS brings headlines on restaurants and retailers across the country – and around the world – that are implementing mobile ordering processes from the kitchen to the storefront.

Around the Mobile Order-Ahead World

Given the revenue at stake, QSRs that made up the last remaining mobile ordering holdouts are getting in on the game. But it’s not just the QSRs – even retailers are clamoring to cut themselves a slice of the mobile ordering pie.

That includes retailers like 7-Eleven. The convenience store chain recently tested a mobile app, dubbed 7-ElevenNOW, that enables customers to place orders online and have them delivered or pick them up in-store. Thus far, the offering has been tested at 10 store locations in and around the Dallas, Texas area.

And 7-Eleven isn’t the only major company trying to improve order delivery. Fast food restaurant chain Wendy’s recently announced it would expand a partnership with DoorDash to bring delivery to 2,500 restaurant locations across 48 major U.S. markets.

To read more on these stories and see the rest of the latest mobile order-ahead headlines, check out the Tracker’s News and Trends section.

Behind Slim Chickens’ Mobile Ordering Play

But it isn’t just industry giants who want in on the mobile order-ahead game. Smaller businesses are also climbing aboard to avoid getting left in the dust.

Greg Smart, founder of Midwest-based QSR chain Slim Chickens, recently added mobile and online ordering capabilities to the company’s offering. In an interview with PYMNTS, Smart said he decided to invest in the technology after receiving repeated requests from customers and franchisees and seeing success stories unfold at other, similar QSR chains.

“At first, people weren’t really demanding it, just asking about it or if we could ever see ourselves offering it, so we didn’t feel like there was a huge demand for it,” Smart said. “But we saw other concepts have success with it and, with the rise in social media – where we can really engage with our customers more directly and they can have a better voice – we started to see that it could be a really good decision for us and our guests.”

To read the full story, download the latest Tracker.

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About the Tracker

The Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker 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.