Restaurants are incorporating data to personalize the in-person payment experience. Panera Bread is the first national restaurant to use Amazon One pay-by-palm capabilities to identify loyalty members at the point of purchase, offering a frictionless, personalized, and convenient experience for loyal customers. In addition, store employees can greet customers by their names, offer available deals, and recommend their preferred menu items after scanning their palms. Meanwhile, other brands are leveraging AI to identify customers and tailor menu boards to their preferences at the drive-thru. Quick-service restaurant giant Burger King has been doing this for years. Rajat Suri, founder and CEO of automated technology firm Presto, said that in some states, brands are even permitted to recognize customers by their license plate. Brands in other areas can still identify customers via their loyalty app. The technology requires diners to sign up for the loyalty program or mobile app, but once it’s set up, the experience should be seamless.
Personalizing the in-person payment experience at Restaurants with Diner Data
Restaurants are enhancing the in-person payment experience by leveraging data to personalize it. In particular, Panera Bread is taking advantage of Amazon One pay-by-palm capabilities to recognize loyalty members at the point of purchase. It is the first national restaurant to use this technology, which enables customers to pay by scanning their palms. The feature will be available to members of the MyPanera rewards program, and it will be extended to more locations in the upcoming months.
According to Niren Chaudhary, CEO of Panera Bread and Panera Brands, the technology will offer a frictionless, personalized, and convenient experience for loyal customers. In addition, store employees will be able to greet customers by their names, offer available deals, and recommend their preferred menu items after scanning their palms.
By collaborating with Amazon Web Services, Panera Bread aims to improve its customers’ experience while deepening its relationship with loyal guests. Dilip Kumar, vice president of AWS applications, said the MyPanera integration with Amazon One could address a significant issue in the restaurant and retail industries: some customers may choose to avoid loyalty programs because they prefer to complete their purchase without the hassle of signing up and redeeming rewards. For new guests who choose to register for MyPanera using Amazon One, enrollment and redemption will be simple.
Panera Bread’s move to personalize in-person payments with customer data aligns with the trend of restaurants personalizing their digital platforms. The fast-casual brand is leveraging technology to create a better experience for customers, a philosophy that it has been centered around for a long time. The palm scanners are available at two locations in St. Louis, Missouri, the restaurant chain’s home city, and more deployments are expected to follow.
Overall, Panera Bread’s partnership with Amazon One could enhance customer loyalty adoption and usage for restaurants by making it more intuitive for customers to earn and redeem rewards.
AI-powered Personalization Brings eCommerce-like Experience to Drive-Thrus
As Panera Bread introduces in-restaurant technology to personalize the on-site experience, other brands are bringing personalization to the drive-thru by leveraging AI to recognize customers and tailor menu boards to their preferences. Quick-service restaurant giant Burger King has been doing this for years.
According to Rajat Suri, founder and CEO of automated technology firm Presto, some states permit brands to recognize customers by their license plate. Brands in other areas can still identify customers via their loyalty app. The technology requires diners to sign up for the loyalty program or mobile app, but once it’s set up, the experience should be seamless.
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