Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux launches Paytronix Order & Delivery ahead of schedule, sees orders grow by 2.5x
In the spring of 2020, Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux was in the middle of a March Madness campaign – its biggest of the year – when the COVID-19 pandemic altered the brand’s short-term priorities.
Adding a digital guest engagement platform had already been part of the burgeoning brand’s growth strategy, but Walk-On’s leadership pivoted quickly, partnering with Paytronix to launch Order & Delivery in just over a month – a full year ahead of schedule. Today, Director of Digital Media and Communications Emily Mastrantonio credits the platform with bringing Walk-On’s back to flat sales by January 2021.
Following the launch of Order To-Geaux in June 2020, Walk-On’s has seen tremendous success, with the average online order being $10 more than the average on-premises check. Takeout sales are 2.5 times higher than they were pre-pandemic, and there are no signs of decline even as restaurants reopen for dine-in service.
But Walk-On’s didn’t choose Paytronix only for the Order & Delivery solution. Soon after introducing To-Geaux, the brand got to work on launching the full Paytronix platform, including a loyalty program, a mobile app, gift card solutions, and robust campaign-management tools to guide and evaluate the customer experience.
In September, three months after launching Order & Delivery, Walk-On’s rolled out its dynamic new mobile app and loyalty program. Convenience for customers was crucial, and the Walk-On’s app gives them the ability to order their favorites for delivery and takeout, save previous orders, redeem rewards, view current promotions, and even purchase swag. Additionally, members who join the loyalty program earn points on a tiered system, so the more points they accumulate, the more rewards are unlocked.
The mobile app has significantly boosted online sales, while the loyalty program has provided customer data insights that allow the brand’s marketing team to segment audiences to send promotional offers in a more targeted – and ultimately more successful – way. The custom loyalty and Order & Delivery dashboards also generate weekly reports that can automatically be sent to all stakeholders and store managers, coinciding with the close of their fiscal week.
“These are new marketing strategies we didn’t have last year, but they carried us through the pandemic. With Paytronix we know our fans better from each touchpoint and gained the ability to message them with timely offers. I would absolutely never have had the ability to know and act on customer order level insights if it weren’t for the loyalty program and messaging.”
Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux easily surpassed its initial goals for driving membership and revenue from loyalty. The launch of online ordering, loyalty, and a mobile app was wildly successful, both in terms of sales and guest engagement. And with dining rooms now open again, order volume and frequency continue to increase week over week.
- By quickly pivoting and rolling out the online ordering and loyalty app, Walk-On’s clawed back to flat sales by January 2021.
- Online orders have averaged about $10 more than in-restaurant checks.
- Takeout sales elevated to 2.5 times greater than pre-COVID and have shown no signs of decline since dining rooms fully reopened.
- To-Geaux sales have remained around 13% of total sales as a system.
- Loyalty generated $19K in incremental sales at one location within two weeks of opening.
Walk-On’s continues to optimize its guest engagement platform as it grows. With 10 new stores opened in 2021 and 10 more slated to open before year’s end, Mastrantonio has praised Paytronix for being able to keep up with an aggressive strategy. Onboarding new locations to the Order & Delivery and loyalty programs is always quick and easy.
“We understand our customers’ preferences now with Paytronix. I can tell a franchisee that an email I sent to their loyalty base drove this many visits and that much spend and that’s huge. Walk-On’s franchisees see quantitative results attached to the loyalty guest visits, and then they can start to customize their own messaging and offers that tie into the local community and sports teams.”