Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International Inc on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit, powered by the success of fried chicken sandwiches at Popeyes and demand for food delivery as consumers stay at home.
The car-centric service model has become a necessity for fast-food restaurants, including rivals McDonald’s Corp and Starbucks Corp as dine-in operations were either stopped or limited during the outbreak.
“We believe strongly that it is time to modernize our drive-thru lanes throughout the U.S. and Canada,” chief executive Jose Cil said.
The new digital screens will have “powerful ‘predictive selling’ technology, integration with restaurant loyalty programs and the ability for remote, contactless payment,” to provide quicker and contactless service, the company said.
The integrated loyalty program is now being tested at 30 locations in Canada. The menu boards display customized menu options based on the customer’s past favourites.
The boards will also allow customers to order and pay at the same time, speeding up drive-thru lanes. The first prototype of the new remote contactless payment device is now being tested at a Tim Hortons in Canada with 15 more restaurants to follow in January 2021.
For the third quarter, comparable sales at Popeyes, the popular chain that gathered a huge social media audience and long lines at stores last year, rose 17.4 per cent.
But comparable sales at Burger King fell 7 per cent and slumped 12.5 per cent at Tim Hortons, as fewer people bought their morning cups of coffee at cafes amid the work-from-home orders.
Net income attributable to the company’s shareholders fell 27.8 per cent to US$145 million for the three months ended Sept. 30 as operating costs and expenses rose.
