For years, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and fast-casual brands have bent over backward to meet consumers’ need for customization. Many chains now offer items that consumers can effectively build from scratch, with add-ons and substitutions available every step of the way. However, with the rise of digital ordering, accelerated by the pandemic, diners now expect to be able to have a quick, simple experience, and being asked to make tons of choices can get in the way of that convenience.
QSR sandwich chain Subway, for one, which has nearly 40,000 restaurants worldwide, for its part, is moving away from the build-it-yourself model in favor of pre-selected options. The company announced Tuesday (July 5) a new line of 12 sandwiches, “the Subway Series,” meant to be ordered by name or number with few to no substitutions. The chain is referring to this move as the “most significant menu update” in its history.
“The Subway Series is the most ambitious undertaking in company history, as we are changing the nearly 60-year-old blueprint that helped make Subway a global phenomenon,” Trevor Haynes, president of Subway’s North American operations, said in a statement. “Whether you leave the sandwich-making to us or are craving your custom creation, there are more reasons than ever to make Subway your dining destination.”
The news comes shortly after the brand announced in May the relaunch of its catering program with a similar focus on ready-made options. In an interview with PYMNTS, Subway Director of Catering Jenn Saunders-Haynes explained that the company’s research leading up to this launch revealed a preference for convenience.
“We … identified some key trends in catering that have helped guide our program,” she said. “Our guests are looking for simple and convenient options to make decision-making easy, which is why we’re leaning into easy order and preselected catering options.”
Read more: Subway: Convenience Takes Priority Over Customization for Catering Customers
Subway’s pivot to offer pre-selected options in addition to its build-it-yourself offerings suggests that a similar shift could be coming for other customization-centric brands. Consider, for instance, a fast-casual brand such as Chipotle, wherein consumers go down the line, making choices about every ingredient in their meal.
While it seems unlikely that the option for consumers to make their own meals would go away, especially with the proliferation of different diets and dietary restrictions creating significant demand for options in which consumers control what they eat, it is quite possible that brands that do not offer pre-selected alternatives will risk falling behind.
Certainly, convenience is top-of-mind for the majority of consumers when deciding between restaurants. For example, research from the March/April edition of PYMNTS’ Digital Divide series, The Digital Divide: Regional Variations In US Food Ordering Trends And Digital Adoption, created in collaboration with Software-as-a-Service customer experience management solutions provider Paytronix, which drew from a survey of more than 2,500 United States adults conducted in February, found that more than half of all consumers consider proximity when deciding between restaurants. This preference suggests that consumers are looking to get their food and get out as quickly as possible, and pre-selected options only speed up that commerce journey.
See also: New Research Shows That Regional Dining Quirks Matter In Tailoring Restaurant Offers
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