Chipotle Says Mobile Payments More Important than Loyalty

This is a pretty strong approach.  Very strong.  Chipotle says a loyalty program won't get the job done for them.  The payment is the key.  They intend to use that action to capture data on the customers and forgo a traditional loyalty approach.

If they get it right they will be blazing a new trail.  If they get it wrong everyone will know and they'll be left behind by all the other fast casuals out there.

Here is the article:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/chipotle-says-mobile-payments-not-loyalty-will-drive-customer-insights

Here is a snippet from that piece:

While a number of food and beverage chains have embraced mobile loyalty, a Chipotle executive said this week that the company will buck the trend and lean on mobile payments – not loyalty – as a way to gather meaningful insights about its customers.

During a conference call with analysts on Tuesday to discuss Chipotle’s second quarter results, the executive responded to a question about the chain’s plans in mobile loyalty by saying that internal research has shown loyalty does not drive frequency. However, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to learn more about its customers, Chipotle is taking a closer look at how to leverage mobile payments.

Talk about sticking your neck out.  The careers of these executives is on the line.  Will it be goat or hero?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant