Chipotle Significantly Reduces Digital Order Wait Times
February 20 2017 - 9:05AM
Business Wire
“Smarter Pickup Times” Rolled Out Across the U.S.; Reduces Wait
Times and Allows for Greater Digital Order Volume
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) has completed the rollout of
its “Smarter Pickup Times” technology to all its restaurants that
offer digital ordering. The advanced technology allows customers
who order digitally to benefit from shorter and more accurate
pickup times and the ability to reserve a future pickup time. The
technology enhances all forms of digital ordering including web
ordering (order.chipotle.com) as well as the company’s ordering
apps for iOS and Android. “Smarter Pickup Times” also improves the
company’s ability to process more digital orders without disrupting
service or throughput in its restaurants.
Chipotle has extensively tested the “Smarter Pickup Times”
system in restaurants around the country. In tests, the company saw
a reduction of wait times for digital orders by as much as 50%, and
an increase in the total number of digital orders to record
levels.
“Most people don’t know that nearly every Chipotle has an extra
make-line in the back of the restaurant where orders can be
prepared without disrupting service on the main line,” said Mark
Crumpacker, chief marketing and development officer at Chipotle.
“Smarter Pickup Times enhances this capability by dynamically
scheduling orders and generating accurate wait times based on the
current volume of orders. This allows us to prepare more digital
orders while simultaneously improving the customer experience.”
Chipotle’s “Smarter Pickup Times” technology dynamically
monitors digital order capacity to ensure that each restaurant can
effectively manage the digital orders flowing into the second
make-line. The company is also in the process of rolling out an
enhanced version of this second make-line that will greatly improve
ergonomics for the teams staffing the line, and allow for even
greater order volume and accuracy.
“We have been evaluating all of our digital offerings with an
eye toward removing friction,” explained Curt Garner, chief
information officer at Chipotle. “That started with a redesign of
our website to make it responsive to whatever device a customer is
using – a computer, tablet or smart phone – followed by online
catering and additional out of store payment options, and continues
with the completion of our ‘Smarter Pickup Times’ initiative. With
this change, we have reduced the wait time for digital orders and
are able to keep our restaurants from being overwhelmed with
digital orders, particularly at peak times.”
Chipotle is currently running a marketing campaign to drive
digital orders that includes in-store promotions, social media
advertising, search optimization, and digital advertising. Moving
forward, nearly all of the company’s digital advertising will link
customers directly to digital ordering.
ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Steve Ells, Founder, Chairman and CEO, started Chipotle with the
idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food
experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of
burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads made from fresh,
high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking
methods and served in an interactive style allowing people to get
exactly what they want. Chipotle seeks out extraordinary
ingredients that are not only fresh, but that are raised
responsibly, with respect for the animals, land, and people who
produce them. Chipotle prepares its food using whole, unprocessed
ingredients and without the use of added colors, flavors or other
additives typically found in fast food. Chipotle opened with a
single restaurant in Denver in 1993 and now operates more than
2,200 restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release,
including statements about digital initiatives and related
marketing programs, are forward-looking statements as defined in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We use words
such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “should,” “estimate,”
“expect,” “intend,” “may,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” and
similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions, to
identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements
in this press release are based on information available to us as
of the date any such statements are made and we assume no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements. These
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those described in the
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, the following: the uncertainty of our ability to
achieve expected levels of comparable restaurant sales due to
factors such as changes in consumers’ perceptions of our brand,
including as a result of food-borne illness incidents beginning in
late 2015, the impact of competition, including from sources
outside the restaurant industry, decreased overall consumer
spending, or our possible inability to increase menu prices or
realize the benefits of menu price increases; the risk of
food-borne illnesses and other health concerns about our food or
dining out generally; factors that could affect our ability to
achieve and manage our planned expansion, such as the availability
of a sufficient number of suitable new restaurant sites and the
availability of qualified employees; the performance of new
restaurants and their impact on existing restaurant sales;
increases in the cost of food ingredients and other key supplies or
higher food costs due to new supply chain protocols; the potential
for increased labor costs or difficulty retaining qualified
employees, including as a result of market pressures, enhanced food
safety procedures in our restaurants, or new regulatory
requirements; risks related to our marketing and advertising
strategies, which may not be successful and may expose us to
liabilities; risks relating to our expansion into new markets; the
impact of federal, state or local government regulations relating
to our employees, our restaurant design, or the sale of food or
alcoholic beverages; risks associated with our Food With Integrity
philosophy, including supply shortages and potential liabilities
from advertising claims and other marketing activities related to
Food With Integrity; security risks associated with the acceptance
of electronic payment cards or electronic storage and processing of
confidential customer or employee information; risks relating to
litigation, including possible governmental actions related to
food-borne illness incidents, as well as class action litigation
regarding employment laws, advertising claims or other matters;
risks relating to our insurance coverage and self-insurance; our
dependence on key personnel and uncertainties arising from recent
changes in our management team; risks regarding our ability to
protect our brand and reputation; risks associated with our ability
to effectively manage our growth; and other risk factors described
from time to time in our SEC reports, including our most recent
annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form
10-Q, all of which are available on the investor relations page of
our website at ir.Chipotle.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170220005083/en/
Chipotle Mexican GrillChris Arnold,
303-222-5912carnold@chipotle.com
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG)
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