For Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2021 was another year of major digital growth. The Newport Beach, California-based fast-casual chain, which has nearly 3,000 locations across five countries, announced in a Tuesday (Feb. 8) press release that digital sales grew 4% in the fourth quarter of 2021, with full-year digital sales increasing 25% on top of 177% growth the previous year.
See more: Chipotle Goes Heavy on Loyalty, Digital-First Tools in Q4 Earnings
Granted, digital sales for the final quarter of the year lagged the full-year share, with online channels accounting for 42% of sales for the final three months of the year and 46% of sales for all of 2021. In the quarter, around half of these digital purchases were order-ahead sales, the release stated.
Additionally, Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Brian Niccol told analysts on an earnings call that, thanks to its Halloween digital ordering promotion, the chain saw record-high digital transactions Oct. 31.
“Digital has proven to be sticky, as it’s a frictionless and convenient experience that has been aided by continuous investments,” he said. “As a result of this pandemic, many new consumers were introduced to Chipotle via our digital channels and are now using [them] for alternative and at times incremental occasions.”
He noted that around two-thirds of customers are in-store only, with the remaining third making at least some of their purchases through the chain’s digital platforms. This third’s outsized contribution to sales indicates that these digital and omnichannel customers purchase more frequently than their brick-and-mortar counterparts.
Loyalty programs go a long way toward encouraging spending for a large portion of these connected customers, according to data from the most recent edition of PYMNTS’ Digital Divide report, “The Digital Divide Report: Technology As A Catalyst For Restaurant Purchases,” created in collaboration with Paytronix. The study, which featured a census-balanced survey of more than 2,400 United States adults, revealed that about four in 10 restaurant customers report that rewards programs would encourage them to make more purchases.
Read more: How Eateries Can Tap Order Throttling Tools as Delivery Demand Grows
Niccol noted that Chipotle’s loyalty program now has 26.5 million members and that the chain is focused on driving engagement both through personalizing the experience and through continuing to pursue its gamified rewards strategy.
See also: Chipotle Says Brands Can Drive Loyalty Without Bearing the Cost of Freebies or Discounts
“Not only have we seen strong, positive responses from our most loyal fans, but … these program enhancements have increased engagement from our medium- and low-frequency guests,” he said.
Across brands, well over half of all restaurant customers are earning rewards for their purchases, according to findings from the January edition of the Digital Divide series, “The Digital Divide Report: Minding The Loyalty Gap.” The study, which featured the results of a census-balanced survey of more than 2,400 U.S. adults, noted that 61% of respondents had earned loyalty rewards for their spending in the previous 30 days. Additionally, more than half of all consumers in their early 40s and below reported being members of loyalty programs.
Read more: Restaurants Compete to Make Loyalty Programs Stand out as Consumers Join Multiple Programs
PYMNTS’ Provider Ranking of Mobile Order-Ahead apps, which ranks restaurants’ smartphone apps based on information about their ordering features, their rewards programs, the size of the active membership base, the amount of time users spend on the app and the number of active users, has Chipotle’s app tied for fifth place with McDonald’s. However, given the number of ties for the top few spots as of Tuesday, Chipotle’s app does not make the top 10.
See the ranking: Provider Ranking of Mobile Order-Ahead Apps
Looking ahead, the chain plans to open 235-250 new locations this year with a strong emphasis on the drive-thru channel, according to the release. Over 80% of these new locations will include Chipotlanes, drive-thru lanes for digital orders.
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