The dining experience rapidly changed with the pandemic’s arrival. Before March 2020, a typical dining interaction was a fairly high-contact experience. The guest sat at a table in a restaurant dining room, and a server took orders and brought out food, which was usually consumed in-house. In the pandemic’s wake, restaurants have had to figure out how to connect hungry customers with food when dining in is off the menu. Forward-thinking eateries have turned to technology to meet this need, including mobile apps, online ordering and third-party delivery aggregators.

Headquartered in the greater Dallas area and specializing in handcrafted, organic, additive-free smoothies, quick service restaurant (QSR) Smoothie King adopted a digital platform for takeout orders shortly before the pandemic began, according to Dan Harmon, the company’s president and chief operating officer.

Most company operations were still traditional, however, with the client ordering and paying at the counter. Early iterations of Smoothie King’s app allowed customers to order online before visiting a store but did not enable them to pay — an oversight the QSR’s leadership knew it would have to promptly correct.

“We very quickly ramped up,” Harmon told PYMNTS in a recent interview. “With dining rooms and lobbies closed, there [was] no way for [customers] to go in and order [and pay].”

As a result of these challenging business conditions, Smoothie King adopted an online platform and app for both ordering and payment. The smoothie retailer also started partnering with multiple third-party food aggregators that offered delivery services.

Decreasing Friction, Increasing Satisfaction

Smoothie King’s app currently allows customers to order and pay using either a credit card or a gift card, which can be stored in the app. It also features loyalty rewards on app orders and a smoothie finder, which allows customers to find menu items that will help them meet their nutrition and fitness goals. Harmon noted the highest percentage of digital orders the restaurant chain has received to date is 28%.

The number of digital orders has trended downward as markets reopen, but Harmon believes these numbers will rebound as customers realize the benefits and ease of frictionless digital ordering and payment.

“We think we can get it above 40%, maybe 50%,” he said.

Smoothie King’s digital ordering is designed to improve customer experience in several ways. One primary aim is improved order management and queuing to ensure that customer orders are prepared in the proper order while also preventing line jumping when consumers switch their ordering methods, Harmon explained.

Pickup options have also been expanded, including drive-thru pickup and grab-and-go stations that facilitate contactless experiences. Smoothie King is currently testing dedicated lanes for digital ordering and has also piloted curbside pickup for online orders. Third-party delivery apps have also enabled Smoothie King to reach customers who otherwise would not have considered ordering from the company, Harmon said.

“Third-party delivery has helped us,” he said, “[but] the pricing of these services is tough.”

Challenges of the New Normal

Prices have been increasing for all restaurants as inflation, the labor shortage and supply chain issues have grown in severity nationwide, but Harmon said his team is doing its best to pass as few cost increases as possible on to customers.

“We’re being thoughtful about price,” he said. “Anything we can do not to pass it along to the franchisee and/or the guest is how we’ve been thinking about it.”

Another challenge is engaging and retaining customers who first came to Smoothie King through third-party delivery apps. Some locations have been adding brand information to these orders to grow awareness, build loyalty and let these customers know about delivery alternatives, such as visiting a location in person.

One key point the team works to communicate to these customers is that loyalty features are built into the Smoothie King app. When customers order through the app, it automatically adds points that the customer can redeem for free smoothies or deals on upcoming orders. Smoothie King also recently opened an online store, Harmon said, where customers may eventually be able to use points to buy Smoothie King-branded merchandise.

The Next Generation of Friction-Free Experiences

Harmon does not see the trend of frictionless, contactless ordering ever going away — or the opportunities smartphones and emerging digital technologies offer.

“I think about the other payment options that are out there, with bitcoin, Venmo and stuff like that. We’ve got to make sure we’re thinking about those things,” he said.

Another benefit of the technology, he noted, is that it allows team members to focus on preparing smoothies.

With technology removing multiple layers of friction, the next priority for Smoothie King is improving team-member experience, an area in which the organization is employing technology as well. The company hosts bimonthly webinars focused on employee retention.

“People just want to be treated well,” Harmon said. “They [want to] feel good about where they work.”