McDonald’s Wants to Boost Sales on Its Mobile App

Main points

• You and three friends have the opportunity to win free food for life as part of McDonald's holiday offer this year.
• The company's larger digital plan includes the three-week offer, which started on Monday and aims to increase traffic to its mobile app without compromising revenue.
• As of September 30, a little over a year after its debut in the United States, the McDonald's loyalty program had 25 million users who had used the company's mobile app within the previous 90 days.

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During the previous holiday season, McDonald's used the celebrity of singer Mariah Carey and promotions to attract users to its mobile app.

With every mobile order, the Chicago-based food juggernaut is taking things a step further by offering consumers the chance to win free McDonald's for life for themselves and three of their friends. Additionally, the chain offers customers unique access to new releases of branded merchandise and culinary specials like a 50-cent double cheeseburger.

The three-week-long offer, which started on Monday, is a part of the business's larger digital strategy to generate recurring revenue without compromising profitability while driving visitors to its mobile app through seasonal discounts.

Restaurant chains have started using loyalty programs in recent years to encourage downloads of their mobile applications and keep customers coming back. Chris Kempczinski, the CEO of McDonald's, stated in late October that nearly two-thirds of American consumers who used the app in the preceding year had been active users in the 90 days prior.

App users are "more meaningful and more profitable" than other consumers, according to Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer for McDonald's U.S. division.

As of September 30, a little over a year after its debut in the United States, the McDonald's loyalty program had 25 million members who had used the company's mobile app within the previous 90 days.

For example, during its most recent quarter, Starbucks, which has maintained a loyalty program for more than ten years, reported having 28.7 million active U.S. members. The 30-million-member Chipotle Mexican Grill rewards program has been around for three years, but the restaurant company won't say how many members have used it in the past three months.

"Boring" Creativity

Hassan, who left Petco to work for McDonald's more than a year ago, claimed that 40% of digital customers use the company's app for the first time as a result of marketing and sponsored media. The large fast-food chain has been using innovative tactics, going beyond discounts and advertising, to draw in new app users, notably through seasonal promotions.

For four weeks this summer, the business hosted "Camp McDonald's," as an example. Discounts on the restaurant's menu items, virtual performances, and limited-edition merchandise collaborations for mobile app users were all part of the initiative.

Hassan stated that the company's objective for the virtual camp was to acquire 2 million new app users, but he would not disclose the precise number. (The offer also infuriated some customers when problems with the third-party site led to hours-long virtual lines to purchase a pool float featuring the character Grimace, which sold out.)

The digital approach for McDonald's isn't intended to be spectacular, though. Hassan claimed that he instructed his crew to feel at ease with being "boring."

You don't alter your plan merely to accomplish something novel and interesting, he remarked.

Through its menu, McDonald's has become accustomed to being uninteresting. Like so many other restaurant chains, McDonald's reduced their menu in the early stages of the Covid epidemic, removing things like parfaits and salads in favor of more traditional menu items like the Big Mac and McNuggets. Even as lockdowns were released and customers returned to their regular habits, the shift away from seasonal menu items was beneficial in boosting sales growth in the United States.

Additionally, McDonald's digital campaigns have emphasized staple menu items. Celebrity lunches in 2020 and 2021 highlighted the standard menu items like French fries and cheeseburgers that singers like rapper Saweetie frequently ordered.

When you have that level of tactical consistency, Hassan explained, it provides you more time to fill those windows with truly fascinating, thrilling, and surprising experiences.

Source: CNBC