To begin with a conclusion, PYMNTS May 2021 edition of Delivering On Restaurant Rewards, a Paytronix collaboration, notes that “The ranks of … returning brick-and-mortar customers are likely to grow as more of the U.S. population is inoculated, but they are unlikely to abandon the digital ordering practices they have picked up since the pandemic’s onset.”
Keeping these consumers engaged is a matter of obliging wishes “for both the experience of dining on-site and the convenience of ordering online by proving a mix of both physical and digital ordering capabilities combined with the loyalty programs they want.”
Seems straightforward, but as we’ve come to expect in this odd era, there’s more to this story.
To get at those facts and insights, PYMNTS researchers surveyed a census-balanced panel of over 2,200 U.S. consumers about rewards programs they use — and would use even more — if experience and reward are properly aligned with the new digital everything.
Much is clarified by the new data, including this: pandemic fears continue reshaping digital ordering patterns, with 25 percent of the “health-concerned” now decidedly digital.
For Millions, On-Site Dining Is Tastier After ‘The Stick’
Observing shifts across the continuum of restaurant goers, Delivering On Restaurant Rewards notes that “Table-service restaurant customers are consistently more likely to have made the digital shift, regardless of what their primary pandemic-related concerns may be,” with 23 percent of “health concerned” consumers shifting to online ordering from table-service establishments. That figure drops to 16 percent for quick-service restaurants (QSRs).
Researchers found health-concerned consumers are the most likely to dine on-site more often post-inoculation: 32 percent say they’ll do more in-person ordering after the stick, versus 28 percent of economy-concerned and 27 percent of the social-concerned consumers.
Per the latest study, “The fact that there are still so many health-concerned consumers planning to get vaccinated — and that vaccination alleviates health concerns and leads many to feel more comfortable dining on-site — strongly indicates that consumers’ appetites for on-site dining will gradually return as mass vaccination rollouts continue.”
A Quizzical Loyalty Lift
Global health crises create bizarre side effects. For example, PYMNTS researchers continue to find puzzling connections between pandemic-related concerns and loyalty program usage.
As is stated in the May edition of Delivering On Restaurant Rewards, “Economy-concerned customers are the most likely of all to use restaurant loyalty programs,” with fully 50 percent using loyalty from at least one restaurant, followed by the social-concerned at 46 percent.
“Consumers whose primary worries about the pandemic pertain to their health and the health of those around them are the least likely group to use at least one loyalty program, at 41 percent,” according to the new data. “Economy-concerned customers are the most likely to use table-service restaurants’ loyalty programs … but they are the least likely to use QSRs’ loyalty programs, at 36 percent. Social-concerned consumers top QSR loyalty, with 44 percent being enrolled in at least one QSR loyalty program.”
This connection between pandemic fears, digital ordering and physical engagement will bear more study as the pandemic recedes and new consumer behaviors solidify over time.
Articul8 has launched a family of GenAI models built to optimize supply chain, manufacturing and industrial process operations.
The new A8-SupplyChain models are domain-specific and have the deep contextual understanding needed to autonomously translate complex technical documentation into structured, actionable sequences, the company said in a Friday (April 4) press release.
“We built A8-SupplyChain specifically to tackle the problems that general-purpose GenAI can’t: delivering accurate, transparent and fully traceable reasoning through complex technical documentation and real-world workflows,” Articul8 Founder and CEO Arun Subramaniyan said in the release. “This is not just another model — it’s a fully autonomous system built specifically for mission-critical environments.”
The A8-SupplyChain models support complex enterprise production environments and platforms, including customers and partners, according to the release.
They can use unstructured data, including PDFs, engineering diagrams, maintenance logs, quality systems and structured tables, the release said.
Because they are trained on high-fidelity technical documentation, the models deliver AI-driven recommendations without extensive manual customization, per the release.
“With A8-SupplyChain, we’re giving aerospace and defense leaders something new: a fully orchestrated system that doesn’t just generate answers — it understands, adapts and drives outcomes,” Subramaniyan said in the release. “This is the next leap forward in enterprise AI — intelligent systems that operate at scale, with context, precision and trust built in.”
Enterprises are turning to AI to automate not just repetitive tasks but also more complex processes like compliance monitoring, fraud detection and supply chain optimization, PYMNTS reported in January.
Articul8 was established in January 2024 by Intel and DigitalBridge Group, which joined forces to create it as an independent company that provides enterprise customers with a secure and vertically optimized GenAI software platform.
The company’s platform enables business to harness the power of AI while keeping their data secure; offers a turnkey GenAI software platform that delivers speed, security and cost-efficiency to large enterprise customers; and supports a range of hybrid infrastructure alternatives, allowing customers to choose cloud, on-premises or hybrid deployment options.
Today, in addition to the new A8-SupplyChain, Articul8 offers domain-specific models for various industries, including energy and semiconductor, according to the Friday press release.
