Wagamama Beefs Up Mobile Order-Ahead

Consumers have come to expect speed, convenience and ease of payment through mobile order-ahead offerings at their favorite restaurants. The number of U.S. restaurant visits that were paid for through mobile apps rose 50 percent over the last year, and 60 percent of surveyed U.S. adult restaurant-goers said they’d visit a QSR or fast casual eatery more often if it had self-service kiosks.

From giants like Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, to small players like individual food trucks, merchants across the board are taking measure of these trends and getting in on the mobile order-ahead game with new apps and ordering services.

The April Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker tracks the latest developments in the space, from voice ordering services to software that helps mom-and-pop shops launch their first mobile apps.

Around the Mobile Order-Ahead Landscape

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania food trucks introduced a new mobile ordering service enabling consumers to use an app to locate, order and pay at any of more than a dozen participating food trucks. The app, Bistro Planet, was released by the Western Pennsylvania Alliance of Food Trucks, and any food truck throughout the city can join.

Meanwhile, around the world, Starbucks Coffee Korea became the first retailer to use Samsung’s voice assistant for ordering and payments. Starbucks customers in the country can now place their pre-orders by giving a voice command to Bixby.

Not to be left behind, rival coffee giant Dunkin’ Donuts is also seeking to add some pep to its mobile ordering service. Dunkin’ recently announced voice ordering capabilities of its own, enabled through Google Assistant on iPhone or Android.

To find the rest of the latest headlines, download the Tracker.

Serving up Mobile Convenience

Pan-Asian restaurant chain Wagamama has a taste for tech adoption as much as it does for katsu curry. In fact, the company was one of the first to fully integrate mobile ordering into the kitchen, CIO Richard Tallboy told PYMNTS in a recent interview. Tallboy explained how the restaurant chain crafted its mobile order approach to provide a smooth experience for customers and chefs alike, and to ensure that meals are hot off the stove right as the customer comes in to pick them up.

Wagamama’s tech push hasn’t stopped with its initial mobile order-ahead rollout, either. The company recently whipped up new updates and features for its app, including capabilities that bring some mobile ordering features to dine-in customers as well.

Freshening and expanding its digital services are all part of the company’s efforts to serve customers with mobile conveniences in whatever type of dining experience they’re craving.

“It’s giving people choices,” Tallboy said. “We want people in the restaurant, of course, but if people want to take food home and watch football, we’re giving them that ability, too.”

For the full story, check out the new Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker .

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About the Tracker

The PYMNTS 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.