When Denny Marie Post, CEO of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews, talked about the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal performance on Tuesday, she touched on a seemingly small, but very relevant point that could heighten customer engagement and customer engagement.
That point?
Convenience.
“Convenience is being redefined,” Post explained. “State of demand, among our target for carry-out at the unplanned dinner occasion, where we have traditionally done very well, has doubled in five years. The same guest who often went out for a movie or shopping is now a frequently choosing to stay at home to binge-watch Netflix and shop online. They still don’t want to cook all the time, so the option to carry out the foods they love most or to have those same food delivered is taking on new importance. Our carry-out mix is still half or less of the category. It’s time for us to take our fair share. What gives us confidence that we can accomplish this? Well, Red Robin is the Burger Authority, and burgers are second only to pizza in menu categories searched online.”
Post shared that the company’s fourth-quarter revenue fell short of plan, but it regained traffic momentum.
To capitalize on that momentum, Post discussed delivery from a number of its locations.
Red Robin has partnered with DoorDash to offer delivery from 70 of its restaurants across the country.
“While we continue to emphasize what has driven our traffic outperformance of late, value, service, and menu news, 2017 will also be a year of change for Red Robin,” Post said. “We want to continue to be a great choice for guests of all ages to dine in and enjoy a delicious burger and bottomless fries. Yet our target guest is increasingly choosing to enjoy that same food at home or at the office.”
Guests who carry out food at Red Robin rated as highly for that occasion as guests who choose to dine in, Post said.
“We are putting the key enablers in place,” she said. “We are rolling out online ordering to all corporate locations by the end of this week. We expect to extend call center support, a tranche at a time, likely reaching all of our restaurants over the next six months; and are testing mobile pay solutions to support curbside carry-out. We expect to implement curbside carry-out at most of our locations later this year. On the delivery front, we have chosen initially to partner with DoorDash and Amazon Prime Now based on strong pilots. Our end goal is to drive greater frequency among loyal customers and increase our reach to those third-party delivery users, who had not considered Red Robin convenient in the past. We may have fewer physical locations in our peer group, but we are all the same size online. Just as this is the age of the specialty retailer winning out of the department store, we believe our burger-focused specialization beats bar and grill generalization every day.”