KFC trials mobile click and collect service
KFC is trialling a mobile click and collect service that allows customers to pre-order from the menu and collect in store.
The fast food restaurant chain is currently testing the initiative in a small number of stores in Woking. Mobile ordering could roll out to the rest of KFC’s 820-strong chain in the UK and could eventually account for around 10 per cent of sales, according to Jennelle Tilling, vice president of marketing at KFC.
KFC is currently working on improving the in-store execution so that customers using the app do not have to wait when they arrive in-store to collect.
Sister chain Pizza Hut already uses a similar mobile service as part of its delivery business. The app accounts for between 20 and 30 per cent of Pizza Hut’s delivery sales.
The mobile trial is part of KFC’s efforts to invest 10 per cent of its marketing budget “experimenting” with new channels.
Tilling says: “You need to keep experimenting and we try to pull together 10 per cent of our budget to experiment. You learn really quickly in retail – you know pretty quickly what’s working with the next day’s sales.”
Other areas the chain is also testing innovations include video on demand, digital outdoor, co-creation and sponsorship.
Sandwich chain Subway launched a similar mobile pre-order service in 2011.
