Drive-thru orders increased during the pandemic. Here’s what comes next

Last March, restaurant sales fell dramatically after governors banned personal meals and consumers began to work with excess stockpiles. But after several weeks, a new trend emerged, illustrated by long lines of drive-thru that surrounded the perimeter of fast food outlets.

Checkers and Rally’s was one of many fast-food companies that benefited from the move. With more than 800 locations, it is the largest chain of restaurants with double lanes for vehicles in the country.

“We had the most extraordinary year last year,” said CEO Frances Allen. “We recorded record gains in sales in the same stores and created significant momentum.”

The crisis coincided with the reformulation of the chain’s menu, helping to resume sales. To keep up with rising demand, about two-thirds of Checkers and Rally’s restaurants have changed one of their drive-thru lanes to handle digital and delivery orders.

After decades as a staple, drive-thru lanes have become a superstar, helping fast-food chain sales to recover faster than their full-service brothers. In December, drive-thru tracks accounted for 44% of off-site orders across the restaurant industry, according to the NPD Group. As the distribution of vaccines in the United States increases, the popularity of drive-thru orders appears to have a staying power, although industry experts predict that this will moderate some.

“I think that as people get vaccinated, orders for drive-thru will go down a little bit, but I don’t think it will drop to previous levels because this increased awareness of germs is here to stay and some people are used to doing things differently now, “said Lisa van Kesteren, CEO of SeeLevel HX, which conducts an annual drive-thru lane service study.

Adrianne, a 27-year-old girl who lives in Wichita, Kansas, agrees. She worked at a Starbucks with a drive-through track for several months.

“Pre-ordering, delivery and in person can vary, but drive-thru is a constant need,” she said.

Other drive-thru workers say the extra stress of their jobs seems unlikely to stop for many months. Randy, a 30-year-old who works in Michigan, said he has wished to quit his job several times and that his location has a very high turnover rate. According to him, the focus has shifted from connecting with customers to ensuring that orders are fulfilled in less than a minute.

Higher volume and larger orders slowed average drive-thru times by 29.8 seconds, according to SeeLevelHX’s 2020 study, which was conducted from June to August using secret customers. KFC, which belongs to Yum Brands, topped the list and was one of the few chains that managed to shorten times.

The network’s president and concept director in the United States, Kevin Hochman, gave credit to the KFC family’s supply buckets, which had double-digit growth last year. Hochman is also serving as interim US president of Pizza Hut, KFC’s sister network. In response to the higher average ticket, KFC added a $ 30 supply offer to its menu to meet the trend for larger orders.

“Packing a 12-piece bucket instead of an eight-piece bucket, that’s very easy to do, instead of making eight sandwiches – it’s a very different model,” said Hochman, adding that other fast food chains are now adding higher value meals to your menus.

Hochman is forecasting some drive-thru traffic transitions back to KFC lobbies as consumers are vaccinated. The fried chicken chain is testing pick-up cubbies, with the expectation that its customers will look for even faster ways to pick up their food after the pandemic.

The shift to drive-thru orders also further increased competition between the fast-food and fast-casual sectors. Networks like Sweetgreen and Shake Shack have announced plans to add drive-thru tracks. Chipotle Mexican Grill, which is launching its drive-thru tracks for digital orders only, said it would accelerate plans to add more “Chipotlanes” to its coverage area.

But even before the pandemic, fast-food chains were investing in their drive-thru lanes, giving them an advantage. McDonald’s spent more than $ 300 million on Dynamic Yield, an artificial intelligence company that would help the company encourage drive-thru customers to spend more. (The company is now exploring the sale of Dynamic Yield’s third-party businesses.)

These investments to make vehicle lanes more efficient only accelerated last year. Chains like Restaurant Brands International’s KFC and Burger King have created new restaurant formats that highlight the drive-thru lane and demote to smaller dining rooms.

Arby’s chief operating officer, John Kelly, said the Inspire Brands chain has been working to make its production more efficient for the past three to five years. Many of their kitchens now work with two groups of workers placing orders to keep up with the flow.

“We certainly didn’t update all of our restaurants during Covid, there was not enough time or manpower to do that, but we were already on our way and we accelerated that in 2020,” said Kelly. “And we will continue to update them in our restaurants, certainly where there is volume today, but also for the future.”

Van Kesteren pointed to automation as another major trend stemming from the increase in drive-thru orders during the crisis. McDonald’s and White Castle are testing artificial intelligence software in order to receive drive-thru orders more quickly and accurately.

“Before, automation was being explored and fully automated runways and kiosks were being tested, but that has accelerated a lot,” she said.

Kelly said Arby’s is investing in technology that will be better able to inform general managers about how to staff a restaurant as traffic fluctuates. During the busiest period during the pandemic, Arby’s gave many of its employees a focus on a single task, whether taking orders or filling drinks.

“So they are not always trying to keep track of where the business is going, but they are actually ahead of it,” he said. “I think we learned a lot about it during Covid and we are going to keep moving forward.”