Taco Bell’s Approach To Fostering Customer Loyalty And Fighting Fraud FEATURE STORY (p . 7) JULY 2020 News and Trends Presto offers free contactless technology solutions to help struggling 11 restaurant industry safely fuel revenues Deep Dive Cybercrime increases as consumers shift to digital ordering amid COVID-19 17 pandemic Scorecard The latest mobile order- 23 ahead provider rankings MOBILEORDER-AHEAD Tracker TABLE OF CONTENTS What's Inside A look at recent mobile order-ahead developments, including the shift to 3 contactless ordering and payments and how COVID-19-related fraud schemes are affecting the mobile order-ahead space Feature Story An interview with Zipporah Allen, vice president of digital experiences at Taco 7 Bell, on how customer loyalty programs can help QSRs drive revenue amid the pandemic News and Trends The latest worldwide mobile order-ahead headlines, including food ordering platform BellyMelly’s launch of a free contactless mobile app to help nationwide 11 eateries safely reopen and POS software provider ParTech’s partnership with drive-thru management provider Techknow to assist QSRs with upgrading drive- thru timers Deep Dive An in-depth examination of social media scams and fake reviews and how 17 they harm restaurants by influencing consumers and hijacking crucial revenue streams Scoring Methodology 21 Who’s on top and how they got there Top 10 Providers and Scorecard The results are in. See the top scorers and a provider directory that features 77 22 players in the space About ACKNOWLEDGMENT Information on PYMNTS.com and Kount 53 The Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker® is done in collaboration with Kount, and PYMNTS is grateful for the company’s support and insight. PYMNTS.com retains full editorial control over the following findings, methodology and data analysis. © 2020 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 2 WHAT'S INSIDE Meeting customers’ concerns for safety amid the the number of customers relying on app-enabled ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led quick-service mobile payments for drive-thru, mobile food order- restaurants (QSRs) to reset their operations. This ing and curbside pickup has led to a parallel rise has meant adopting contactless ordering, payment, in cybercrimes, however. Bad actors see the in- delivery and pickup services – needs that solutions creased use of mobile apps for food ordering as providers have gladly stepped in to fill. These up- an opportunity for fraud. Some have set up fake grades come at a crucial time for the battered food restaurant storefronts on social media to bilk con- service industry as it looks to reopen and recover sumers in pizza plug scams that result in huge from the financial hardships inflicted by temporary losses for business owners, for example. closures and stay-at-home mandates. Pandemic-related schemes have been rampant in The mobile order-ahead space already had the ad- the United States, with 22 percent of consumers vantage of enabling limited interaction between falling victim to such fraud. Restaurants and mobile customers and staff as well as limiting touch of platforms will need to adopt prevention systems to shared surfaces like restaurant menus. A surge in © 2020 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 3 WHAT'S INSIDE combat these schemes and reap the benefits of in- services via a messaging app would make it more creased mobile ordering. likely that they would complete purchases. Contactless ordering is growing in demand as Mobile order-ahead developments around the world consumers and businesses look to avoid conta- gion. Zuppler, a global food services and software As consumers have migrated to primarily shopping firm, has released on-site touchless ordering on its and paying online and have opened new digital ac- Menu Anywhere system that will provide a safe, in- counts during the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of teractive alternative for the $900 billion food service cybercrime have also risen. Recent research found industry in the U.S. Guests can track their orders as that digital food orders jumped 134 percent, and the food is prepared and review prior order history, in- number of consumers using new accounts rose to cluding favorite items. between 20 percent and 25 percent of transactions compared to pre-pandemic levels of between 5 For more on these stories and other mobile percent and 7 percent. Online fraud in the restau- order-ahead developments, read the Tracker’s rant space rose by 32 percent, however, indicating News and Trends section (p. 11). that preventive measures will need to be taken. Taco Bell on fostering customer loyalty for The online and mobile world has become central to mobile order-ahead apps consumers’ daily lives, yet only 25 percent of QSRs Continued social distancing and stay-at-home or- are operating with formal digital strategies, accord- ders have hobbled restaurants’ revenue streams as ing to a recent study. The study examined what many QSRs lack the walk-in traffic that previously consumers most wanted from QSRs, with speed formed core parts of their businesses. Restaurants and convenience topping the list. These can be are relying on mobile apps more than ever to make achieved through streamlining the checkout pro- sales and stay in operation, but these apps re- cess, improving mobile apps or linking payment quire loyal customer bases to make up for dine-in cards to loyalty programs so customers can use sales losses. In this month’s Feature Story (p. 7), their rewards across digital channels. The study PYMNTS spoke with Zipporah Allen, vice president also revealed that more than 60 percent of con- of digital experiences at Taco Bell, about how the sumers said the capability of paying for goods and © 2020 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 4 WHAT'S INSIDE Executive chain fosters customer loyalty with a program that draws on customers’ past orders to provide them INSIGHT with targeted recommendations. A recent study revealed that online fraud in the restaurant sector had risen 32 percent by ear- Deep Dive: How the rise in digital food ly June. What tools and technologies can help crack down on cybercriminals and protect cus- ordering volumes has attracted cybercrime tomers’ personal information? schemes “Account takeover [or ATO] fraud is an issue of Mobile order-ahead apps are providing a safe and major concern for online businesses and digital convenient way for consumers to order meals at commerce, particularly as the demand for online purchases has increased since March. Restau- their favorite QSRs during the COVID-19 pandem- rant loyalty accounts are often the target of ATOs ic. These mobile apps can also serve as tools for because of the stored value they contain. engaging members in loyalty programs to build Beyond exposing a victim’s personal information, lasting relationships. Increased consumer en- a criminal can use unauthorized account ac- gagement, however, is a honeypot for fraudsters cess to steal monetary value on the account or to looking to take advantage of unassuming mobile purchase gift cards, which, once used, can be dif- ficult to track. users. This month’s Deep Dive (p. 16) examines the consumer-driven shift to digital payments and how Restaurants are responsible for securing a con- sumer’s digital journey through their websites; it is attracting fraud schemes through social media however, enhanced protection shouldn’t include and food-ordering apps as well as the fraud preven- additional friction. tion systems that can help combat these scams. To balance security with a positive customer ex- perience, Kount gives flexibility to adapt friction levels for certain users. Kount accomplishes this by establishing 'identity trust,' or the level of trust for each identity behind every payment, account creation and login event. Kount Control Account Takeover Protection is the only ATO solution built on the Identity Trust Glob- BRAD WISKIRCHEN al Network, linking risk and trust signals to protect CEO of Kount and enhance the entire customer journey.” RICH STUPPY chief customer experience officer at Kount © 2020 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 5 WHAT'S INSIDE Five Fast Facts $630B 32% Amount of online sales Increase in online restaurant expected this year, of which fraud during the COVID-19 fraudsters are predicted to lockdown steal more than $12 billion 80% 134% 25% Share of on-the-go payments Increase in online food orders Portion of QSRs operating made with Starbucks’ mobile from restaurants during with formal digital strategies app prior to COVID-19 COVID-19 © 2020 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 6 Taco Bell’s Approach To Fostering Customer Loyalty And Fighting Fraud © 2020 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 7 FEATURE STORY The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the biggest chal- Allen recently offered PYMNTS an inside look at lenges the QSR industry has ever faced, with social how the pandemic has emphasized leveraging cus- distancing and stay-at-home orders forcing restau- tomer loyalty to drive sales as well as how lingering rants around the U.S. to close their dining rooms fraud threats will continue to target the space once and rely on delivery and takeout services to stay the crisis passes. afloat. The National Restaurant Association ex- Changes due to COVID-19 pects the industry to lose up to $240 billion by the end of the year, with millions of restaurant work- Customer loyalty is an extremely important driver ers laid off or furloughed and numerous eateries of QSR sales, but it has never been more import- forced to close permanently. ant than it is now. QSRs cannot currently rely on customers to stop at their restaurants in the spur Restaurants confronting these challenges are turn- of the moment as stay-at-home orders and so- ing to mobile order-ahead services more than ever cial distancing guidelines mean dining rooms are to continue their operations.