Panera Bread becomes the first restaurant chain to adopt Amazon’s contactless payment technology: But cost and privacy concerns could limit the retailer’s ability to scale its checkout solutions.
Chick-fil-A risks angering customers by devaluing loyalty program: While Chick-fil-A will require customers to spend more to qualify for perks, Subway leans into value with its Footlong Pass.
Wing has big ambitions for drone delivery: The Alphabet-owned company aims to handle millions of orders within the next 12 months as it expands how the technology is used.
The labor market is extremely challenging for retailers and restaurants: Quit rates are on the rise, which is making it difficult for companies seeking to improve the customer experience.
Federal judge orders Starbucks to stop union-busting tactics: But the company may not capitulate so easily, even as uneasiness grows among corporate employees.
Consumers have shifted more their spending to dining out: But while restaurant industry sales are expected to rise 6.4% this year, the industry faces several challenges.
Price increases hurt Domino’s Pizza delivery sales volume: However, it also helped the pizza chain improve its profit margins.
McDonald’s introduces plant-based McPlant Nuggets in Germany: The fast-food giant, which developed the product with Beyond Meat, said it may expand availability into other markets based on customer demand.
DoorDash has 50% more DashPass subscribers than it did a year ago: Growing that subscriber base should help it drive customer retention and boost basket sizes.
Chipotle is launching its first spinoff in a while: That’s why 14% of retailers plan to hire additional staff and others are looking to self-checkout or checkout-free technology options. (This story was written with the assistance of GPT-3).
Uber Eats serves up post-checkout app ads: New offering, which debuted during Super Bowl, allows advertisers to reach consumers tracking status of orders.
Yelp looks to services sector for continued growth: The platform may have plateaued as a discovery engine for new restaurant and retail destinations.
Atmosphere secures another $65 million to corner the unskippable ad market: The connected TV enterprise provider powers screens at your favorite bars and gyms.
Consumers are trading down to value-oriented QSR brands: That trend helped Yum Brands and Subway post strong gains in Q4, while higher-priced restaurants like Chipotle disappointed.
Mediterranean QSR chain Cava looks to go public: That would make it the first restaurant company to make its public market debut this year.
Plant-based meat sales fell last year: The challenging environment is driving Impossible Foods to reportedly cut about 20% of its staff.