Chipotle, Cava use driving service to compete with fast food

• Fast-casual chains, such as Chipotle and Cava, test digital traffic lanes to better compete with fast-food chains.
• In the coffee category, over 80% of new Starbucks establishments are service-driving stores.
• As chains invest in orders and mobile deliveries, driving is a clbadic way to provide customers with speed and convenience.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

The driving service is back.

Mobile orders and deliveries drive sales for city-dwellers in search of convenience, while driving service remains the fastest way to order a meal for most customers outside of urban centers. As channels that break the norms of traditional fast-food grow, they seek to reorganize service at the wheel in their quest for dominance.

In February, Chipotle announced plans to open more collection routes for mobile orders, called "Chipotlanes". Chipotle will open most of these stores in new locations, as opposed to adding traffic lanes to existing stores.

Laurie Schalow, a representative of Chipotle, told Business Insider this week that the channel was still testing the test and planned to open dozens of them this year.

The CEO, Brian Niccol, explained that Chipotlanes basically functioned as a driving service, the main difference being that customers had to place their orders on the Chipotle application or on an online form. After placing the order, customers can access a window at the specified support time, allowing them to take orders without leaving their car.

"This will undoubtedly be the fastest way to [get] Chipotle – goes through the Chipotlane, "said Niccol in February.

Read more: Chipotle opens dozens of sites with drive-in style "Chipotlanes"

Chipotle is not the only channel that tests digital controls. Cava, a fast-paced, easy-to-wear fashion chain, is deploying a digital ordering service in Charlotte, North Carolina, later in April, said CEO Brett Schulman at Business Insider this week.

According to Schulman, driving is often the most convenient option for suburban customers. However, at present, the driving service market is dominated by fast food chains.

"At first, when we were opening up in remote suburbs or other suburban markets, we had people coming in so well that we were neither another burger nor a pizzeria, "said Schulman. "Everyone loves hamburgers or pizzas, is not it?" But there were not many options for people who wanted to eat healthier on a regular basis. applied that same thought to driving service. "

Starbucks and Dunkin & # 39; Donuts are also testing the pickup services for mobile orders.

Starbucks, in particular, is doubling on the driving scene. More than 80 percent of the new Starbucks sites opened during fiscal year 2018 in the United States were service-driving, the company announced in November. Drive-through stores "outperformed" comparable overall sales and the company plans to continue to focus on driver-driven service over the next year.

The attention of the coffee giant for the service at the wheel comes at a time when Starbucks is reconsidering the design of its stores and its overall strategy to better meet the needs of modern customers.

"Our relationships with our customers begin as soon as they think of Starbucks," said Roz Brewer, president and chief operating officer of the Starbucks Group for the Americas, in a statement released in March. "They connect with us through their barista and the quality of the cup they bring."

"Their third place is everywhere they hold our cup," Brewer continued. "Whatever their journey, after leaving our stores, that feeling of comfort has remained, and in an increasingly busy, on-demand world, it's this feeling that keeps third place growing. "