Study: Ordering ahead pervasive among all generationsStudy: Ordering ahead pervasive among all generations

More foodservice customers value convenience now than ever before: Seven in 10 past-month QSR customers ages 18-54 use mobile order-ahead features. Even older consumers are getting in on the trend, with 43% of quick-service customers ages 55-75 using a brand’s app to place an order ahead of time. That’s according to a mystery shopper study released by market research firm, Ipsos, in partnership with Nation’s Restaurant News.

The QSR/Fast Casual Digital Ordering Performance study collected and analyzed shopper data across 26 limited-service brands from 1,752 QSR app users from ages 18-75 who used the order-ahead feature. The purpose of the study was to determine what would make a user most likely to use the order-ahead feature from that brand again and analyze where restaurants were winning over mobile app users, plus how they still need to improve the experience of this still fairly young restaurant experience channel.

The brands the consumers visited were divided into three categories: burgers and chicken (McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Carl’s Jr., Wendy’s, Popeyes, Five Guys, Mooyah, Jack in the Box, Chick-fil-A, Whataburger, Shake Shack, Slim Chickens, Zaxby’s, Hardee’s, Raising Cane’s, Wingstop, and Sonic); coffee (Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Dutch Bros), and “other” (Chipotle, Domino’s, Panda Express, Noodles & Company, and Salad and Go).

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While mobile order-ahead is a growing foodservice channel, it is most popular with men under the age of 35, who are the most frequent users of the mobile order-ahead features, according to Ipsos. Unsurprisingly, 90% of quick-service visitors between ages 18-24 use the mobile order-ahead feature. But what’s behind the high adoption rates? According to Ipsos, the top motivators for ordering ahead are saving time, receiving exclusive in-app promotions, and ability to customize their orders and easily re-order items. In short, customization and convenience are both king.

“The experience needs to help save you time or skip the line, and you also need to be able to customize your order almost as effectively as if you were ordering in person,” said Brad Christian, head of strategic growth, U.S. channel performance for Ipsos. “If you can’t hold the pickles on the mobile app, then it damages the whole value of mobile ordering. These are table stakes.”

Even though convenience and ease of service are obviously high on the priority list — two-thirds of customers say they prefer to pick up curbside or in the drive-thru without having to exit their car — personalized service matters too. A slightly higher percentage of people (37%) prefer to interact with a person than digitally or digitally with a preference for interacting with a person (36% combined). This might seem contradictory, but it could very well represent a demographics divide.

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“I think it's generational in nature,” Christian said. “The younger generation is developing brand affinity and loyalty for convenience and frictionless interactions, as opposed to feeling good or interpersonally connected with a brand. … Having that interaction on a personal level makes you think it is going to create a better outcome for you, but that's more of how an older person feels than a younger person.”

The mobile order-ahead channel is not going away, whether customers care about in-person experiences or not. According to Ipsos, four in five mobile app users plan to order ahead again in the next few months. The only reason they would not is if ordering ahead does not actually save them time (either they have to wait in the drive-thru lane or wait for their food to be made), or if their order is inaccurate.

The top motivators for using order-ahead features again for users would be receiving exclusive deals or promotions, followed by skipping the line, and being able to easily re-order items. Unfortunately, restaurants on average scored lower in these categories.

“Give me something that justifies you taking up space on my phone — the ability to get rewards and be treated special,” Christian said. “If I’m going to get a cheeseburger anywhere, why would I get it with you?”

This is part one of NRN’s coverage of the Ipsos digital ordering performance study results. Next, we will dive deeper into individual brand data, and why the top ranked brands performed so well with mobile ordering users.  

Contact Joanna at [email protected]