Burger King and Popeye’s to Roll Out ‘Predictive Selling’
Man, drive-through fast food has gone through a lot of changes in the last year. In the aftermath of the Great Chicken Sandwich of 2019, we saw more and more restaurants moving to a Chick-fil-A - style drive up ordering experience. When Popeye's and Chick-fil-A squared off in August of last year over the best chicken sandwich, the response was huge! The Popeye's restaurant on Airline Drive in Bossier City regularly saw lines of cars full of people waiting to get their taste that measured out over a mile long.
Partly because of that response (but mostly due to closed dining rooms) , Restaurant Brands International Inc. has announced a bold new concept for your drive-through dining experience called "Predictive Selling." None of the technology displayed in the demonstration video below is groundbreaking, but the way the parent company of Burger King, Tim Horton's, and Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen is using will certainly change the way you order.
Basically, the ordering system will use a "loyalty card" to log you into the system via a card scanner placed at the ordering kiosk. This system will keep track of your orders and learn what you like. Then, it will make suggestions to you (based on previous selections) when you order. Those suggestions will be shown to you on the digital menu screen, and will be shown to the order taker on the register.
It's basically the digital version of "I'll take my usual." This "customer profile" will follow you to every restaurant, ensuring your super complicated whopper order is detailed down to the number of pickles you want on it (for example). You can order it your way in Shreveport, and (in theory) you can get it the same way in Tucson, Arizona without having to explain it all at the drive-through again.
PRN Newswire is reporting that more than 10,000 Burger King and Tim Horton's locations will be rolling out the systems soon, but no information was available as to which locations would be beta-testing it. Popeye's will also reportedly be testing out their version of "Predictive Selling," later this year.
Check out the video below, it's kind of wild. Personally, I'm not sure that I want another company keeping tabs on my burger or chicken sandwich preferences - but since it's already happening (thanks Facebook), I wouldn't mind getting my food a little faster.