Imagine this: You’ve just wrapped up a productive morning at the office, and your stomach is starting to growl. You check your phone for the time and – surprise! – there’s a mouthwatering photo of your favorite spicy lamb and avocado bowl from CAVA, a nearby spot you love for lunch. Even better, it’s at a discounted price. Looks like lunch plans just got deliciously easy!
That perfectly timed, surgically targeted promotion was created just for you by one of the growing number of AI tools fast food chains are using to build customer loyalty. The tools gather data on what each loyalty member likes to eat, when they usually arrive, and how much they spend, then customize the restaurant’s notifications, promotions, menu offerings, and upselling efforts to match. The tools, including Incentivio, ebbo, Como, Punchh, and TikMe, can group customers based on their habits and fine-tune their pitches over time based on how customers respond. They also use each loyalty member’s preferred social media platforms to sprinkle enticements throughout their day.
Wendy’s is using an AI system at 6,500 locations to offer gamified interactions, exclusive offers, and targeted promotions to loyalty customers. The chain hopes to deepen relationships with its fans and stand out in their minds as different from other chains, a supplier says. Domino’s Pizza uses AI to track customer preferences and suggest what to order. Other technologies can change suggestions based on the weather or what other customers are ordering.
This technology is not without risk. If the tools don’t work right, and offer unappetizing suggestions, too many intrusive notifications, or too many hurdles to receiving loyalty benefits, they risk sending even loyal customers running for the exits. But when the technology works well, it can make customers feel special and appreciated.
Chipotle found a way to surprise and delight customers by using AI to match them with another anonymous customer who ordered the exact same meal within the past two minutes at a different location. Customers received no information about their food twin — only the time and date of their order, the restaurant where it was placed, and a listing of the customized ingredients. The “Chipotle Doppelgänger” campaign was a home run, spurring $4.8 million in sales to loyalty members during the initial four weeks of the campaign.
