Technology

Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons launch drive-thru transformation, release Q3 sales results

Drive-thru transformation has begun at one of the world's largest restaurant companies, Restaurant Brands International, which also today released quarterly sales results that were partially soured at Burger King and Tim Hortons by the pandemic. But Popeyes and its chicken sandwich-smitten customers provided a silver lining.

RBI brands are receiving drive-thru makeovers in the next two years. (Photo provided)

October 27, 2020

As it released less-than-glowing third-quarter financial results today, Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons parent company, Restaurant Brands International, also announced that it will modernize its drive-thru experience at more than 10,000 North American restaurants over the next two years. The company said the new drive-thrus will offer "predictive selling" technology, integration with restaurant loyalty programs and remote, contactless payment, as well, These menu boards will also feature STRATACACHE's Media Engines, according to a news release.

On the financial end, RBI's third-quarter profits fell short of what they were last year at this time due to the restraints placed on the chain and across the industry by the pandemic. Net income fell substantially from $351 million last year's quarter to $223 million in Q3 2020, or 75 cents per diluted share last year's quarter to 47 cents this year, the company said.

RBI attributed its drop in year-over-year sales largely to declines at Burger King and Tim Hortons, though the company said those losses were partly made up for by gains at Popeyes.

"Looking forward, we are very well-positioned to navigate through a wide range of possible scenarios, especially given the strength of our network of drive-thrus and fast-growing delivery channel," RBI CEO Jose Cil, said in the release. "Despite our continued near-term focus on confronting the challenges presented by this global health crisis, we continue to make progress behind our long-term vision for the business, including modernizing our brands by leveraging the technology capabilities we've built in recent years.

"We are excited to roll out digital drive-thru menu boards to over 10,000 Tim Hortons and Burger King restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, the bulk of which will be installed by the end of next year."

Drive-thru upgrade

On the matter of the North American systemwide drive-thru upgrades, Cil said that more than 10,000 Burger King and Tim Hortons locations were beginning the transformation, with Popeyes starting its own rollout later this year, according to a news release. The company selected STRATACACHE to manage the digital menu boards with its Media Engine. These players are arranged together, so that if one has technical difficulties, the other can take over and continue to deliver content.

Updated drive-thru menu boards at Tim Horton's.(Photo provided)

More than 40,000 digital screens are being installed with 'predictive selling' technology, as well as integration with restaurant loyalty programs and the ability for remote, contactless payment.

"Our guests have sought out our drive-thru lanes for our iconic food and beverages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — even in the face of mandated dining room closures around the world," Cil said in the release. "We believe strongly that it is time to modernize our drive-thru lanes throughout the U.S. and Canada to provide even better, quicker and contactless service for our guests.

It includes presenting menu options on digital screens that are tailored for each guest, as well as integrating the loyalty program at the moment of ordering and providing remote, contactless payment to speed up drive-thru lanes.

Some of the standout features of the systems being installed include:

• Predictive selling: This tech in the drive-thrus was designed by RBI's in-house Guest Intelligence team to allow special promotions to be tailored, based on previous orders, regional weather patterns, time of day and many other factors. The company said the technology can dynamically learn preferred ordering habits and show the latest and trending menu items most-ordered in any specific location.
• Integrated loyalty programs: The menu boards can integrate loyalty programs, permitting customized menu options to be displayed that are based on a customer's favorite purchases and redemption history. This functionality is currently live and being tested at 30 locations in Canada with Tim Hortons rewards loyalty program. All digital drive-thru menu boards in the US and Canada have been designed to accommodate loyalty integration via scanning, Bluetooth or near-field communication.
• Remote, contactless payment: The digital drive-thru menu boards can add immediate, remote contactless payment to allow guests to order and pay simultaneously. RBI partnered with Verifone to develop a new global remote contactless payment device for a drive-thru lane. The first prototype is currently installed at a Tim Hortons restaurant in Canada, with 15 more locations to test this functionality by January 2021.
• Weatherproof installations: New installations are using enclosures that have been designed to withstand extreme heat, cold and even salty air from oceanfront areas. The enclosures are waterproof and can sustain continuous water pressure. Existing installations will be retrofitted to this level of protection.
• Technology: More than 40,000 outdoor-rated 46-inch screens are set up so that if any one of the four digital screens in a standard drive-thru loses communication with its primary media player, the secondary media player will take over and ensure content continues is displayed correctly. National Operation Centers in Ohio and Montreal can manage any digital screen and update menu board content across remaining digital screens in the event of a hard screen failure.

As of September, Tim Hortons had installed digital drive-thru menu boards at approximately 800 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Burger King has installed digital drive-thru menu boards at more than 1,500 locations in the U.S. and Popeyes will being installations at new locations later this year.

A typical drive-thru lane includes four digital screens, while double drive-thru lanes typically include a total of seven digital screens.RBI is assessing drive-thru locations and, where possible, is installing double drive-thru lanes to increase capacity and efficiency at our restaurants.

Collectively, RBI brands have more than 27,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries and U.S. territories. The company is based is Toronto, Canada.