One of the great things about being in this industry is helping iconic brands grow and adjust to the market. Checkers & Rally’s offers our latest opportunity to be part of such a change. The brand has always been known for its great burgers and its drive-thru locations, but just this week announced that it closed $20 million in funding to fuel new growth. Now its new Paytronix-driven loyalty program and mobile app will be a key part of that strategy, as the company predicts the rewards program and app will help increase guest visits by as much as 20% and increase guest spend by as much as 15%.
This is part of an ongoing eCommerce push for Checkers & Rally’s that combines its mobile presence with online ordering, rewards, delivery, and express pickup at the company’s drive-thru locations. No major move like this is done without research and the marketing team at Checkers & Rally’s utilized the Paytronix Data Insights team to understand what their customers wanted in a program. The answer came back with a few key takeaways: build a super-simple rewards program, provide easy access to coupons, and make it all work with order and delivery.
As a result, the rewards program is simple: downloading the app triggers a reward for either a free Classic Mother Cruncher® chicken sandwich or Big Buford®. After that, every dollar spent in the store or through the app is worth 5 points and at 400 points members earn a $5 reward. Referring a friend nets members and additional 100 points.
“For the last two years, we have been laser-focused on enhancing our eCommerce platform, for the benefit of our guests and our franchise owners,” said Josh Buchmann, Senior Director of eCommerce & Guest Engagement for Checkers & Rally’s said in the company’s press release. “Unlike others in the space, our delivery program and our new app are incredibly easy to use and allow our guests to order our food how they want it, when they want it.”
This kind of careful consideration is a big reason why the company’s franchise partners picked up the rewards system so quickly, with 90% participating from day one. Those that are not yet on board are currently making the necessary technology upgrades so Checkers & Rally’s can reach 100% participation soon.