QSR April 2023

and multiple format investments. The total addressable market for Shake Shack today versus 2019, frankly, isn’t comparable. Digital and kiosk sales are up 330 percent since 2019, from $147 million to $494 mil lion. Digital guests spend 20 percent more than traditional ones. They boast higher frequency and offer Shake Shack access to new occasions. Fogertey refers to the movement as “migrating people into the omnichannel.” “We want to make sure what we’re see ing is that they might be coming to the app sometimes, they might be coming into the Shack at other times, and we want to meet them wherever they are,” she says. For Shake Shack, this meant leveraging and improving what was already built to provide a compelling guest experience. In Q3 of fiscal 2022, Shake Shack ballooned its digital app purchasers by 40 percent, year-over-year (more than a million app installs since the beginning of the calen dar). From March 2022 forward, it gathered more than 4.5 million unique first-time dig ital app purchasers, feeding the base with offers like giving digital users first access to LTOs. Shake Shack’s digital guests spent, on average, 25 percent more per visit than non-digital users that quarter, and digital mix was 36 percent of sales. Switching lanes, Shake Shack launched direct delivery in March 21—a decision that triggered a 70 percent increase in delivery order volume through its app in one year. Also, going native allowed Shake Shack to put its best brand foot forward. “Our strat egy in the delivery wars is to own the guest ordering, regardless of pickup or delivery mode, and ensure our guests have a uniquely Shake Shack experience, even if they order delivery and never walk into our Shack. The guest ordering experience is the best presentation of our full menu—we highlight imagery, descriptions and modifications in a way that provides the optimal guest experience,” says Steph So, head of digital experience. “While third-party apps offer a wide range of restaurant choices and are a great way for guests to try Shake Shack the

“We want to make sure what we’re seeing is that they might be coming to the app sometimes, they might be coming

into the Shack at other times, and we want to meet them wherever they are.”

ital channels that never existed a few years ago,” Garutti said in December, pushing the brand to optimistic heights. Shake Shack’s total revenue in Q4 rose 17.4 percent, year-over-year, to $238.5 million as same-store sales upped 5.1 percent. Shake Shack’s future unfolds across new, dynamic buckets— the expansion of its delivery services, kiosk, digital, drive-thru,

first time, they create a ‘sea of sameness’ with the number of restaurants surfaced to a user, and our unique brand voice and interactions are not able to shine through. We also want to offer our guests the best value, which we can control most directly on our channels, and be transparent with fees.” Shake Shack first piloted nationwide delivery via its iOS app

LIZ EIDELMAN

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APRIL 2023 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com