OC’s largest publicly traded quick-serve restaurant operators recently reported quarterly results and digital, not surprisingly, continues to be the star.
CEOs are hardly letting up on their plans to boost revenue through the channel. Here’s the latest on what local QSRs are doing on both fronts:
• September will be big for Costa Mesa-based El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LOCO) with the chain’s relaunch of its Loco Rewards program. It’ll be boosted by an ad campaign of TV, social, digital and in-restaurant signage.
The loyalty program currently accounts for 10% of sales year-to-date and should increase to 12.5% by year’s end.
CEO, President and Director Bernard Acoca called it “the cornerstone of our digital flywheel.”
That month will also see the launch of curbside pickup at El Pollo Loco.
E-commerce orders for El Pollo Loco have more than doubled since the start of this year.
• Lake Forest-based Del Taco Restaurants Inc. (Nasdaq: TACO) now has more than 1.1 million registered users of its app. That’s a 28% hike from the end of last year. App-only promos are helping.
President and CEO John Cappasola told analysts late last month: “We are using the COVID-19 period to invest in our future and are not simply waiting for when the pandemic is behind us to consider next steps. Rather, we intend to reach the other side better positioned to capitalize on new opportunities that will emerge from this crisis.”
• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) has taken digital a step farther than its peers using the second quarter to host a virtual prom after-party, farmers market, e-gaming tournaments and concerts. Digital sales at the Newport Beach-based company topped $829 million in the second quarter, jumping 216% from a year ago.
Its rewards program has nearly 15 million people enrolled, after launching a little over a year ago. Chipotle’s seen enrollment rates double since the pandemic.
“It’s early days, but we are starting to leverage this growing installed base with personalized promotions to incent behaviors, especially considering more than 70% of current digital orders are from our members,” CEO and Chairman Brian Niccol said last month during the company’s earnings call.
