Skipping the Line Is All the Rage

From Chick-fil-A to Dunkin’ Donuts, technology is helping customers pay ahead and skip long lines.

June 06, 2016

NEW YORK – “I think it's going to be a difference maker. It's the biggest change in our delivery system," Dunkin’ Brands CEO Nigel Travis told CNBC's "Squawk Box" last Friday on National Donut Day.

Travis was referring to the chain’s mobile app capability launching nationwide: an On-the-Go mobile ordering feature that allows DD Perks rewards program members to pre-order and skip lines. It also allows for cashless payments via members’ Dunkin' Donuts Card within the app.

Dunkin’ began testing On-the-Go Ordering in Portland, Maine, at the end of 2015, and expanded the test throughout the Greater Boston area in March 2016 and the Metro New York area in late April.

"Clearly, there is a lot of competition out there. There are convenience stores, burger chains. They're all jumping in," Travis told the news source. "But we're coming back with obviously new products all the time."

Chick-fil-A announced last week a new mobile app that allows customer to pre-order, pre-pay and skip the long lines. The app is geared toward millennial parents, the 82% of diners who “would do almost anything to avoid long lines at fast food restaurants when they are with their children,” according to a recent Chick-fil-A survey. The survey also found that nearly half of millennial parents (48%) say they would rather not eat at all than stand in a line.

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