Dunkin’ Donuts will begin testing mobile ordering and payment for loyalty club members in Portland, Maine, this week, and will also begin offering delivery in Dallas, Texas.
DD Perks rewards program members with iOS smartphones in Portland can download the Dunkin’ Donuts On-the-Go Ordering app, which can be linked to their loyalty cards for payment and the accumulation of rewards points.
Users can then skip the line at Dunkin’ Donuts locations by going directly to a designated pick-up counter or the drive thru.
The app also allows customers to place their orders up to 24 hours in advance, then confirm through the app when they are at the selected restaurant to pick up their order.
Initially, users will only be able to order menu items available nationwide, but the company said broader menu offerings will be added down the road.
The Canton, Mass.-based operator hopes to roll out mobile ordering nationwide in 2016.
Nigel Travis, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. chairman and CEO, has predicted that the rollout of mobile ordering and payment will significantly speed throughput and boost the chain’s convenience factor.
It will also help the 11,300-unit coffee-and-doughnut chain compete with Starbucks Corp., which already offers mobile ordering and payment at its 7,500 domestic locations.
Starbucks is also upping the mobile ordering and delivery game by testing a delivery feature directly from the chain’s app, officials said in a call with analysts Wednesday.
In Seattle over the next month or two, customers will be able to use the Starbucks app to order, pay and have their coffee and scones delivered by third-party partner Postmates, all integrated within the brand’s app, said Scott Maw, Starbucks chief financial officer.
The move, if technologically successful, will likely be a game changer in the delivery space.
Currently, customers typically order delivery through the digital sites of third-party providers, like DoorDash, not directly from restaurant apps.
In Dallas, for example, Dunkin’ Donuts is working with DoorDash, which is offering the service from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from certain locations and promises delivery within 45 minutes.
DoorDash delivery of Dunkin’ Donuts is expected to be available in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in coming weeks, Dunkin’ Brands said.
Scott Hudler, Dunkin’ Donuts vice president of global consumer engagement, said in a statement that convenience is a big factor in both moves.
“Our guests appreciate that we make our full menu available all day, and we are committed to seeking new ways to make our products even more accessible to our guests throughout the day,” he said. “The ability to skip the line to order your favorite coffee, donut or sandwich any time of day, or to have Dunkin’ items delivered directly to you, are two things that our guests have been requesting for some time.”
The partnership with Dunkin’ Donuts is another notch in the belt for DoorDash, which recently also announced delivery for KFC and 7-Eleven in certain markets. Earlier this year, DoorDash launched delivery with Taco Bell.
The delivery firm, however, has also been the target of a lawsuit by In-N-Out Burger, which charged the firm with delivering without their permission.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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