Chili's to overhaul online orderingChili's to overhaul online ordering

Chili's Grill & Bar will overhaul online ordering over the next six months as part of a strategy to differentiate the brand through technology, the parent company CEO said Tuesday.

The division of Dallas-based Brinker International Inc. said Monday that it would partner with Olo, the digital ordering company, to rebuild its online ordering platform for ease of use by customers on their smartphones, tablets and personal computers.

Wyman Roberts, Brinker president and CEO, told ICR Conference attendees in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday that the company’s commitment to leverage technology is part of its strategy to compete “in the marketplace more specifically and more differentiated than we have in the past.”

That differentiation is important in the highly competitive grill-and-bar segment, he said.

“In bar and grill alone, half of the category is made up of mom-and-pops — independents, small chains,” Roberts said. “And we think that our ability to leverage our scale and our size and our innovation around technology really will continue to differentiate us and separate us from that group. And there are other ways we will separate ourselves from some of the bigger players, primarily from our positioning.”

Roberts said that for Chili’s online ordering, Olo will “reformat and revamp and our engine that drives our takeout and delivery opportunities.”

Chili’s current system was created in-house over the past five to six years, Roberts said, and is at capacity.

“With this transition over to Olo — it will probably take us about six months to make that transition — we think we have the opportunity to move the online experience on takeout and open the door then for delivery,” he said.

Chili’s was among the first casual-dining brands to adopt tabletop tablets, and has been using other “guest-friendly technology,” such as the Nowait app, to allow customers to put their names on waiting lists from their smartphones.

“For those of you have ever waited in a Chili’s or other lobby, it’s not the most pleasant experience you’ve had before you get to eat,” Roberts acknowledged.

The brand’s “My Chili’s Rewards” loyalty program, through the tabletop technology and the mobile app, has grown to more than 4.4 million members, he added. And Chili’s intends “to get smarter and smarter about how we engage those guests,” Roberts said. When coupled with the brand’s email database, which he said was more than 2.2 million addresses, it provides “exciting volumes” of customers to which the brand can market.

The new online ordering platform should be in place over the summer, the company said, and should help in potential third-party delivery and to-go orders.

"To-go ordering is the fastest growing part of our business," Wade Allen, Chili’s vice president of digital innovation and customer engagement, said in a statement.

"This investment in technology for online ordering is a clear opportunity for further growth, and lays a foundation for us to add new features that will continue to deliver a digital guest experience like no other in the casual-dining industry," Allen said.

When the new platform is in place, My Chili’s Rewards members will be able to pay for to-go orders with loyalty points, the company said.

For the most recent first quarter ended Sept. 23, Brinker reported that profit rose 1.4 percent, to $33.2 million, or 54 cents a share, from $32.7 million, or 49 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue in the quarter increased 7.2 percent, to $762.6 million, from $711 million in the prior-year period.

Same-store sales fell 1.6 percent at company-owned Chili’s units and decreased 1.7 percent at Maggiano’s Little Italy.

Brinker International owns and franchises 1,632 casual-dining restaurants, including 1,583 Chili's units and 49 Maggiano’s locations.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
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