FSR March 2023

F U T U R E O F QU I C K S E R V I C E

digital business while maintaining our commit ment to the traditional dine-in business,” she says. “We wanted to be able to provide our restaurants and team members the tools to best handle the increase in digital sales. We worked hard over the past two-and-a-half years to identify opportunities to improve the overall omnichannel guest jour ney as well as the work of our team members.” Like others, Shake Shack watched off-premises surge across 2020 and into 2021. But its gains today are coming from customers walking into stores, Fogertey says. “Which is great for our business.” And thanks to investments made outside the four walls, the Shake Shack customer today has more points of access than ever. Guests can download the app and skip the line. Ordering ahead for pickup has proven a sizable time saver, Fogertey says. It streamlines what’s often a busy and crowded order line as well. “This also provides us with a unique opportunity to communicate with our guests on a much more personal level that we didn’t have prior to our digital business,” she says. Last year alone, Shake Shack appreciated more than a million app downloads. Come Q3, 4.5 mil lion guests had made a first-time purchase in the chain’s owned digital channels. “But, our digital journeys go beyond the app,” Fogertey says. “We also anticipate seeing more guests interacting with

our kiosks. A good portion of guests prefer them over traditional cashiers when given the choice, as they’re fun to explore and visually helpful when it comes to customizing a menu item. Our app and kiosk are also helpful tools for our teammembers, as they allow our team members to focus more on guest service and hospitality.” Let’s circle the kiosk note. Shake Shack announced in Q3 it planned to put kiosks in every location by the end of 2023. At that point, about half of stores had them. Kiosks represent Shake Shack’s most profitable channel and pro duce its highest in-store checks. Restaurants with kiosks also boast better labor utilization rates than those without. Fogertey says kiosks give Shake Shack a lever to lean on to streamline labor and address the front-of-house opportunity. Internal data shows a “good portion” of guests prefer them over tra ditional cashiers given the option. In many units, Shake Shack has five or six kiosks alongside one or two cash registers. Does this offer a model of another quick-ser vice dining room of tomorrow? The easy answer is, it depends. To Fogertey’s point, you have to see how customers react. She’s watched many guests walk in and go right to the kiosk. They tell the brand they enjoy the ability to sit with the menu

SHAKE SHACK HAS BUILDS FOR EVERY NEED AND GUEST, FROMWALK-UP WINDOWS TO KIOSKS TO DRIVE-THRU. 

SHAKE SHACK (3)

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INDUSTRY-WIDE ISSUE

MARCH 2023