Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. may have found the answer to the operational challenges that have postponed the proliferation of mobile ordering in the fast-food industry.
The chain, part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc., said it’s planning the national rollout of its smartphone app that lets customers place orders for in-store pickup.
It will be an operational feat for the chain, with nearly 6,000 stores and estimated annual sales of $7.5 billion.
The app has been in development for about two years, and the company began internal beta testing with some Taco Bell employees at five company-owned restaurants this year in Irvine, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Mission Viejo and La Mirada.
The timing of the national rollout is still being worked on, said Taco Bell Senior Digital and Mobile Leader Jeff Jenkins.
Millennials
The chain opted to build its own platform rather than purchase a premade system, allowing it to create an app consistent with the chain’s “Live Más” tagline that targets so-called “Millennial” customers—generally under the age of 30.
Images on the app have an Instagram-filtered quality, giving off the feeling that a friend could have easily snapped the photo, Jenkins said.
“When Taco Bell looked at the mobile space, we obviously saw a big opportunity, especially when you think about the Millennial consumer and how attached they are to the smartphone,” Jenkins said.
Different messages greet users when the app is launched, depending on the time of day.
One example: a call to “Ditch Your Desk” appears in the afternoon.
Extras and other tweaks to an order can be made through the app, which takes into account the fact that 60% of Taco Bell guests customize their orders.
Guests can pay with a gift card or credit card and then select whether they want to pick up their food through the drive-thru or inside the restaurant. Jenkins said orders will not be made until a customer selects a prompt through the app, preferably when he gets to the restaurant.
One of the hang-ups to getting mobile ordering off the ground has been logistics of the pickup, Jenkins said, and how to prevent customers from either getting cold tacos or having to wait too long for their orders.
The app also stores favorite orders that can be quickly reordered by rotating a phone 90 degrees and then putting it back to its upright position, which then triggers the confirmation. The chain is currently filing a patent for the “rotate to reorder” feature.
Other Chains
It’s too soon to know if Taco Bell’s mobile moves could trigger a shift among other local fast-food chains. Irvine-based Galardi Group Inc.’s Wienerschnitzel and In-N-Out Burgers Inc. both said they are currently not pursuing mobile.
It’s unknown whether Lake Forest-based Del Taco LLC is working on a version of the concept.
“While we don’t comment on projects in development or testing, mobile is a priority for us going forward,” said Noah Chillingworth, vice president of marketing at the chain, which has 547 restaurants.
