GoTo Foods Has Success After Rebranding and Upgrading Loyalty Program
One year after Focus Brands rebranded to GoTo Foods, the company has made significant strides in consolidating its portfolio under a unified digital platform. In February 2024, GoTo Foods introduced a strategic partnership across its portfolios with point-of-sale provider, Qu, aiming to streamline operations across its seven brands, which include popular names like Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, McCalisters, and Cinnabon. By leveraging a shared digital infrastructure, GoTo Foods aims to maintain each brand’s unique identity while cutting costs and improving efficiency.
Jim Holthouser, CEO of GoToFoods, said, “We’re building this, this digital platform that is almost like a master app or a master website, and all we’re doing is replicating that seven different times and then changing out the menu and colors and brand personality. We can give these brands world-class apps at a far lower cost because we’re doing it all together.” Holthouser highlighted a major success story from GoTo Foods’ digital transformation. McAlister’s served as the “guinea pig” for the “four-wall strategy” and positioned the deli to become the first to become a billion-dollar GoTo Foods brand, which also happens to be leading loyalty sales across the GoTo Foods brand portfolio. Holthouser added, “When you walk into a McAlister’s and you identify yourself as a loyalty member, all of a sudden the experience starts to change. When you order your food, staff identifies your table with an orange card (while non-loyalty members get black). Now the staff walking through the dining room knows who the loyalty members are and thanks them for their business and can add little moments of surprise and delight, like surprising them with a cookie.”
The strategy has led to an explosion in loyalty memberships across the portfolio, growing from five million to 25 million in just a few years. Looking ahead, GoTo Foods is focused on expanding its digital capabilities and growing its customer base. The company is using consumer data to refine its loyalty programs and personalize customer experiences. The company’s ambitious goal is to reach 50 million loyalty members and introduce new services, such as subscription programs. Additionally, GoTo Foods plans to roll out group ordering capabilities and expand into international markets, focusing on non-traditional locations like airports and malls.
Read more here: https://www.gotofoods.com/introducing-goto-foods-focus-brands-unveils-new-name-and-identity/
McDonald’s New Prototype Enhances the Customer Experience, Focusing on Off-Premises Dining
McDonald’s has introduced a new prototype designed to cater to on-the-go consumers by focusing on off-premises dining. The new concept, which debuted in Los Angeles, features key innovations such as a mobile pickup window and pickup lockers but does not include a traditional dining room. According to a McDonald’s spokesperson, the new format aims to optimize drive-thru and digital ordering experiences, addressing the demand for locations where the chain may not yet have a presence.
A company email read, “McDonald’s is always testing and learning from different concepts and restaurant capabilities—like the food lockers being tested at this location—to better serve our customers.”
McDonald’s has emphasized that while this new format is being tested, traditional stores with dining rooms and counter service will remain an integral part of its operations. McDonald’s continues to explore various restaurant models to better meet customer needs, with features like food lockers being tested to improve service efficiency. The move comes as McDonald’s digital and off-premises sales are seeing significant growth. In the third quarter of 2023, digital orders accounted for more than 40% of sales in McDonald’s top markets, aided by initiatives like the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program, which boasts 166 million loyalty members.
Learn more about the MyMcDonald’s Reward Program here: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/mymcdonalds.html
Chevron and Synchrony Extend Partnership to Enhance the Customer Experience
Financial services provider Synchrony has announced that it is expanding its collaboration with Chevron to continue the Techron Advantage Credit Card program. The extended agreement marks a significant milestone in their 17-year partnership, combining Synchrony’s prowess in consumer financing with Chevron’s longstanding legacy of customer-focused innovation. The renewal also celebrates 100 years since Chevron first introduced consumer credit with a paper card in 1924, laying the foundation for modern consumer credit practices.
Synchrony Home and Auto VP and CEO Curtis Howse said, “For a century, Chevron has been at the forefront of customer-focused innovations in energy. Synchrony’s focus on digital capabilities and flexible payment options aligns with Chevron’s forward-thinking approach. The renewal of this service agreement underscores Synchrony’s commitment to providing innovative financial solutions to meet the evolving needs of Chevron’s consumers.”
The Techron Advantage Credit Card program offers a variety of benefits, including accessibility to the Synchrony Car Care™ network, available options to Synchrony’s digital application, and promotional financing on purchases of more than $199. Additionally, cardholders can enjoy fuel discounts and special offers when using the Chevron mobile payment app. Visa cardholders receive up to 10 cents per gallon in fuel credits based on non-fuel purchases, while all customers receive a three-cent-per-gallon discount. Chevron’s innovation in consumer credit dates back to 1924, when the company, then known as Standard Oil of California, introduced a “courtesy card” for gasoline and oil product purchases on credit. Since 2007, Synchrony has worked alongside Chevron to develop new financial products, including the introduction of a Visa card in 2008. With the extended partnership, both companies plan to bring more value to customers through the upcoming launch of new features in 2025 that will complement Chevron’s Texaco Rewards program and further enhance customer loyalty.
Read more here: https://www.synchrony.com/contenthub/newsroom/chevron-celebrates-17-years-of-innovative-financial-solutions.html
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Original Article Links:
How GoTo Foods’ new unified digital platform is propelling the portfolio company forward
McDonald’s Opens Another Drive-Thru and Digital Focused Prototype
Synchrony Extends Consumer Credit Card Issuing Agreement with Chevron, Celebrates 17 Years of Innovative Financial Solutions for Consumers