- Chipotle is turning to technology to grow sales, with mobile ordering, delivery, and even a digital drive-thru test in the works.
- The tech investments are changing what Chipotle looks like for customers and behind the scenes.
- We recently visited a location in New York City that has served as a test site for much of Chipotle's new initiatives and saw how tech is crucial to the chain's turnaround plans.
Chipotle is turning to technology as the struggling burrito chain enters a new era.
The chain basically invented the format that became a fast-casual classic: workers preparing food to order in a line, directly in front of customers. The low-tech, straight-forward preparation style helped make Chipotle a major success.
Now, after a two-year sales slump following an E. coli outbreak, Chipotle needs to find new ways to serve customers and convince them to return to the chain. To do so, the chain is turning to tech, with mobile ordering, drive-thru, delivery, and behind-the-scenes changes in the works.
These changes are transforming what it is like to dine at Chipotle. We recently visited a location in New York City that has served as a test site for much of Chipotle's new technology.
Here's what it's like to dine at the Chipotle of the future — and what it says for the brand's turnaround:
One of Chipotle's biggest tech advancements is mobile ordering.
Mobile ordering is sweeping the restaurant industry, and it has been an option on Chipotle's app for a while.
However, for a long time the process has been both time-intensive and confusing, according to Curt Garner, chief digital and information officer at Chipotle. Customers who placed mobile orders were met with wait times of up to 45 minutes. Then, when they showed up at Chipotle, they were left to wander around, looking for where their burritos were stashed.
"The last five feet in the restaurant were still confusing in many places. … It's not clear in a Chipotle where you get your food," Garner told Business Insider.
Now, Chipotle is both speeding up mobile orders and reorganizing restaurants to make things more clear.
The chain is testing clearly marked signs to lead customers to mobile pick-up shelves. And, wait time has been cut down to 12 minutes. Mobile orders now account for 8.8% of the chain's sales, according to the company, with a 40% increase from 2016 to 2017.
As tech evolves, Chipotle is also making some behind-the-scenes changes.
Chipotle is doubling down on its "second make line," a burrito preparation area geared towards mobile, delivery, and even drive-thru orders.
When Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol joined the company in early March, he said that the second make line was one of the things that immediately stuck out as an opportunity to boost sales.
"One of the first things I uncovered was the second make line," Niccol said. "I was just like, this is a huge ... capability that we have not been taking full advantage of."
See the rest of the story at INSIDER
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