Mobile Order Pickup Process Critical to Overall Customer Satisfaction

Study reveals Five Guys, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, and Panda Express are getting it right, ranking as category leaders across the digital order for pickup experience

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Intouch Insight Ltd. (TSXV:INX) (OTCQX: INXSF) today released findings of its 2023 study, Emerging Experiences: Where Tech Meets Taste. With 87% of consumers surveyed reporting having recently ordered food for pickup, the report identifies some of the most-prevalent trends shaping the restaurant guest experience and how fast casual chains are adapting operations to capitalize on the continued growth in digital ordering.

Key takeaway: brands who received a fully satisfied rating on the pickup portion of the digital ordering for pickup experience, yielded a higher overall satisfaction rating by 34%.

The inaugural Emerging Experiences Study features data from 800 covert visits Intouch Insight performed nationwide across these 10 brands: Chipotle, Panera, Shake Shack, Jersey Mike's, Five Guys, QDOBA, Panda Express, Noodles & Co., McAlister's Deli and Chicken Salad Chick. All of the 800 orders were placed online, directly with the brand through its website or mobile application for pickup in-store. Within this group, Five Guys, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, and Panda Express outscored other brands when it came to key factors of the ordering and pickup experiences.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, online ordering, delivery and pickup have all skyrocketed, and the overall customer experience in these areas is crucial to a brand’s success,” said Sarah Beckett, Director of Marketing at Intouch Insight. “While fast casuals have been refining the digital ordering experience over the past three years, much of the investment has gone into the technology to support the ordering portion of the experience. Our study confirmed that the investment has paid off, with brands scoring well on the elements of the ordering experience. However, there is lots of room for improvement with regards to the pickup experience.”  

The Emerging Experiences Study examined a range of factors that contribute to a higher level of satisfaction with the overall digital order experience, but three key factors rose to the top:

• Required Staff interaction: Overall satisfaction was 15% higher when staff interactions were required as part of the pickup process.
• Signage: Satisfaction with the pickup experience was 12% higher when there was clear signage in the restaurant indicating where they should pick up their order.
• Pickup area: Satisfaction with the pickup process was 8% higher when there was a designated pickup area.

“Fast casuals must keep the pulse on digital orders for pickup because it’s such an important part of the customer journey, merging the online and in-person experience. Not only are there some easy and cost-effective wins for brands, like signage, taking hold of this experiences can really have a big impact overall. 

In addition, increased in-store foot-traffic for pickup orders has the potential to detract from the dine-in experience if not planned and executed properly,” Beckett said. “Brands can take full control of the pickup experience, testing and measuring the impacts of changes made to accommodate this growing channel.”

The full Intouch Insight 2023 Study, Emerging Experiences: Where Tech Meets Taste offers more data on how the specific elements of the ordering and pickup processes impact overall customer satisfaction. Read it here →

About Intouch Insight
Intouch Insight is a CX solutions company, specializing in helping multi-location businesses achieve operational excellence so they can exceed customer expectations, strengthen brand reputation, and improve financial performance.

Intouch enables brands to collect and centralize data from multiple customer touch points, giving them actionable, real-time insights in an advanced analytics platform. Founded in 1992, Intouch is trusted by over 300 of North America’s most-loved brands for their customer experience management, customer survey, mystery shopping, mobile forms, operational and compliance audits, geolocation data capture and event marketing automation solutions. For more information, visit www.intouchinsight.com.

Media Contact:
Sarah Beckett
Director of Marketing
sbeckett@intouchinsight.com  
613-270-7922