Drive-thru orders increased during the pandemic. This is what comes next

Last March, restaurant sales fell sharply after governors banned in-person dining and consumers began working with their plethora of stocked groceries. But after a few weeks, a new trend set in, exemplified by long drive-thru lines wrapping around the perimeter of fast-food venues.

Checkers and Rallies was one of many fast food companies to benefit from the shift. With more than 800 locations, it is the largest double-lane restaurant chain in the country.

“We had the most amazing year last year,” said CEO Frances Allen. “We have achieved record sales in the same store and created significant momentum.”

The crisis coincided with the renewal of the chain’s menu, which got sales back on track. To keep up with the spike in demand, about two-thirds of Checkers and Rally restaurants shifted one of their drive-thru jobs to handle digital orders and delivery orders.

After decades as a fast food staple, drive-thru lanes became the superstar, helping fast food chain sales recover faster than their full-service brethren. According to the NPD Group, 44% of off-premise orders across the restaurant industry accounted for drive-through lanes in December. As vaccine distribution increases in the United States, the popularity of drive-thru orders appears to be enduring, although industry experts predict it will reduce some.

“I think as people get more vaccinated, the drive-thru ordering will decrease a bit, but I don’t think it will drop to previous levels because this increased germ awareness is here and some people are used to doing things now. different, ”says Lisa van Kesteren, CEO of SeeLevel HX, which conducts annual research into drive-thru lane service.

Adrianne, a 27-year-old who lives in Wichita, Kansas, agrees. She has been working at a Starbucks with a drive-through lane for several months.

“Pre-ordering, delivery and personal can fluctuate, but drive-thru is a constant necessity,” she said.

Other drive-thru workers say the added stress of their work is unlikely to stop for many months. Randy, a 30-year-old who works in Michigan, said he often wanted to quit his job, and his location has a very high turnover rate. According to him, the focus shifted from contact with customers to processing orders within a minute.

Higher volume and larger orders slowed average drive-thru times by 29.8 seconds, according to SeeLevelHX’s 2020 study, conducted June through August with secret shoppers. Owned by Yum Brands, KFC topped the list and was one of the few chains that managed to trim times.

The chain’s US president and chief concept officer Kevin Hochman admitted KFC’s credit bins, which grew by double digits last year. Hochman also serves as the interim US president of Pizza Hut, KFC’s sister chain. In response to the higher average ticket, KFC added a $ 30 restock offer to its menu to address the trend of larger orders.

“Packing a 12-piece bucket instead of an eight-piece bucket, that’s pretty easy, instead of making eight sandwiches – it’s a completely different model,” Hochman said, adding that other fast-food chains are now offering meals with a larger size. add value to their menus.

Hochman predicts some drive-thru traffic will return to KFC lobbies as consumers get vaccinated. The fried chicken chain is testing pick-up cubbies, with the expectation that after the pandemic, their customers will look for even faster ways to get their food.

The shift to drive-thru orders has also further increased competition between the fast food and fast casual sectors. Chains such as Sweetgreen and Shake Shack have announced plans to add drive-thru lanes. Chipotle Mexican Grill, which had rolled out its drive-thru lanes for digital orders only, said it would speed up plans to add more “Chipotlanes” to its footprint.

But even before the pandemic, fast food chains invested in their drive-thru jobs, giving them the upper hand. McDonald’s has spent more than $ 300 million on Dynamic Yield, an artificial intelligence company that would help the company drive continuous customers to spend more. (The company is now investigating the sale of Dynamic Yield’s outside operations.)

Those investments to make lanes more efficient have only accelerated in the past year. Chains such as Restaurant Brands International’s KFC and Burger King have designed new restaurant sizes that emphasize the driveway and downgrade it to smaller dining areas.

John Kelly, Arby’s Chief Operating Officer, said the Inspire Brands chain has been working towards more efficient manufacturing for the past three to five years. Many of his kitchens now work with two sets of workers collecting orders to keep up with the flow.

“We certainly didn’t upgrade all of our restaurants during Covid, there wasn’t enough time or manpower to do that, but we were already on the road, and we accelerated that in 2020,” said Kelly. “And we will continue to upgrade those in our restaurants, especially where there is volume now, but also for the future.”

Van Kesteren pointed to automation as another big trend that emerged from the increase in drive-thru orders during the crisis. McDonald’s and White Castle are both testing artificial intelligence software with the aim of taking drive-thru orders faster and more accurately.

“We used to explore automation and test fully automated lanes and kiosks, but this has greatly accelerated that,” she said.

Kelly said Arby’s is investing in technology that can better educate general managers about manning a restaurant when traffic fluctuates. During the busiest times of the pandemic, Arby’s had instructed many of his restaurant workers to focus on a single task, be it taking orders or filling drinks.

“So they don’t always try to keep track of where the business is going, but really walk for it,” he said. “I think we learned a lot from that during Covid, and we will continue to do so.”