Why consumer demand for convenience is making everyone’s lives easier, including franchise operators.
As we transition into a post-COVID world, it’s fair to say convenience is king in retail. However, that’s not to say that consumer demand for convenience is a direct result of the pandemic. Rather, COVID-19 merely accelerated the rate at which businesses started prioritizing convenience as a necessary factor of success.
As franchisors, it is important to have in place the necessary systems and processes that help our franchise owners deliver on that consumer demand for convenience. While some may assume that simplification for the customer means more work for the operator, the opposite is true in the digital age with ample technology available to make things easier for all parties.
Here is an overview of convenience-driven trends we’ve watched skyrocket within the last year, insight into the technology behind them, and reminders of how implementing such systems will improve processes for everyone involved – both consumers and franchise operators alike.
1. Online and contactless ordering and delivery
Online shopping was on the rise for years before the pandemic. Especially in the restaurant industry, we’d begun incorporating more ways to serve customers outside of our restaurants’ four walls for some time leading up to 2020. Early adopters of such initiatives benefited greatly when the global health crisis hit.
In the case of Little Caesars, the 2018 launch of our signature Reserve-N-Ready system featuring the Pizza Portal pickup, the quick-service restaurant industry’s first heated, self-service mobile order pick-up station, our January 2020 partnership with DoorDash to launch delivery capabilities directly from our website and app, and our installation of drive-thru windows at suitable locations put us ahead of the game for what was to come. As COVID-driven demand for contactless ordering and delivery escalated, we saw firsthand just how impactful these systems were not only for meeting customer needs but also for streamlining operations. The Pizza Portal pickup significantly improves operational efficiency by allowing crew members to pre-assemble customers’ orders so they’re ready and waiting for them upon arrival, also enhancing the pickup experience for delivery drivers.
Little Caesars is just one of many brands implementing contactless approaches to conducting business in the modern world. According to QSR Magazine, the delivery sector alone has “ballooned 20 per cent in the past five years, with Statista projecting online food delivery revenue to reach $24bnby 2023.“Drive-thrus are also busier than ever, pushing many brands to incorporate them into their businesses for the first time (i.e., ShakeShack), while others are leaning so heavily into the drive-thru model that they’re building more locations with no dine-in options whatsoever (i.e., KFC, Dunkin’, and more). Beyond restaurants, if Amazon taught us anything, it’s that there’s hardly anything we can’t sell and deliver online with today’s technology. With such systems positively affecting the franchisee’s experience both in terms of operations and the bottom line potential, why wouldn’t we capitalize on them?
2. Personalization
As our technology becomes more intuitive, we can offer more options for the consumer than ever before. Little Caesars has found that people are ordering much more than the standard pepperoni pizza because online ordering is an easier, more visual, and ultimately more enjoyable experience when customizing with our interactive pizza builder.
In a traditional restaurant setting where the full responsibility of correctly placing the order is on the individual taking the order, personalization inevitably adds operational stress. A “complicated” request with more unique toppings and/or exclusions has a higher likelihood of being prepared incorrectly, which of course leads to unhappy customers who are less likely to return. Letting technology handle the order process reduces the potential for human error and increases the potential for satisfied customers and more business activity as a result.
Restaurants are not the only franchises benefiting from increased personalization. For instance, when a clothing chain only sells from brick-and-mortar stores, product selection is limited by physical space. Establishing a strong eCommerce presence makes readily available purchase options more diverse in terms of sizes, colors, and styles, proving once more that increased personalization can lead to more business.
“Drive thrus are also busier than ever, pushing many brands to incorporate them into their businesses for the first time”
3. Creating value without compromising quality
Early on in retail’s digital transformation, businesses could get away with charging higher costs for innovative technology that prioritized convenience because it was novel. Now, that’s not the case as all products and services are increasingly easier to obtain and more personalized. In today’s market, you won’t see a return if your competitor is offering the same services at what is perceived to be a similar quality but at a much lower cost.
Today’s consumer wants high quality at an affordable cost – which some may consider an oxymoron. But more and more businesses are realizing that incredible value and incredible quality can go hand-in-hand, with Little Caesars being a prime example. In Sandelman & Associates’ nationwide survey of quick-service restaurant consumers, Little Caesars has been named “Best Value in America” for 14 consecutive years (2007-2020). Priding ourselves on that reputation, Little Caesars and its franchisees have refused to cut corners even as we’ve invested in more state-of-the-art technology, which has not only added value for the customer but has been well-received by franchisees.
One of the biggest benefits of enhancing technology – beyond the business return that can come from satisfied customers – is improved data collection and analysis. Having more data to validate the value of our systems can make the franchise opportunity more attractive. Data adds credibility, and credibility goes a long way where value is concerned.
Complex work; simple results; great return
The digital age presents a unique dynamic in that we are constantly advancing our technology for the sake of simplification and convenience. The most successful technology is not necessarily the most complex, but rather it is what’s most efficient and user-friendly.
As this digital transformation continues, the franchise brands that use technology to maximize convenience for everyone who interacts with them are the ones who will find the most success.
The author
Marc DaSilva is the vice president of international development for Little Caesars Pizza, and is responsible for overseeing the strategic development of both new and existing international markets. Before joining Little Caesars, he served as the managing director of Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins brands in Southeast Asia, China and New Zealand.
