In March of last year, P.F. Chang’s overhauled its entire business model in a matter of days as statewide lockdowns went into effect across the country. On-premises dining, which had previously accounted for 80% of the brand’s business, evaporated overnight.
In less than six months, the brand launched a new online ordering front-end, a new table management system and reservations engine, major upgrades to the mobile app built by Paytronix, and new contactless technology at the table.
The result: takeout business doubled in 2020, and delivery business more than tripled compared to 2019. The brand’s loyalty database, powered by Paytronix, grew by 350,000 guests last year.
These are just a few of the reasons that P.F. Chang’s Chief Marketing Officer Tana Davila was recognized as an industry Innovator by Hospitality Technology’s 2021 Top Women in Restaurant Technology Awards. The awards were presented April 14 at MURTEC, the Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference.
The Innovator Award is presented to women who “are forward thinkers and who have executed on tools and strategy to transform the foodservice technology space in a positive manner by creating or deploying emerging technologies that reimagine how things are done while paving the way for future technologies.”
During her tenure, Tana has grown the off-premises channel by more than $220 million and engineered a Brand Refresh initiative that showed a 10%-plus revenue lift. She also led the P.F. Chang’s marketing team when the brand migrated its loyalty rewards program to the Paytronix platform in 2019. At the peak of the COVID-19 lockdowns last spring, the brand saw a drop in total checks but found that loyalty checks remained consistent, reinforcing the importance of this key business strategy.
Congratulations Tana, HT’s Top Women in Restaurant Technology Innovator!