Let Customers Skip the Line

Ever used a FastPass at Disney World to skip the line? Some experts say that if businesses would use a similar feature on their mobile applications, consumers would definitely take advantage, reports Digital Transactions.

Although mobile wallets are still newer technology and many consumers haven’t adopted the practice of using them, there’s one coveted benefit that may change their minds: The ability to place and pay for an order, and then pick it up later – without any waiting. “That’s something that’s going to explode,” Leon Majors, a senior vice president at Phoenix Marketing International, told Digital Transactions.

Which Companies Are Leveraging Order Ahead for Mobile Payments?

Starbucks Corp. added an order ahead feature (Mobile Order & Pay) to its mobile payments app in 2015. This feature accounts for 6% of all transactions.

During peak times, Mobile Order & Pay usage is even higher:

• In 3,300 stores, it accounts for 10% of orders
• In 600 stores, it accounts for 20% of orders

Other adopters of order ahead include Taco Bell, Panera, Chick-fil-A and Dunkin’ Donuts.

Order ahead isn’t confined to proprietary wallets offered by big-name chains, either. Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay apps can leverage order ahead and have plans to build that out further, according to Josh Gilbert, of First Annapolis Consulting.

Banks Starting to Take Advantage of Order Ahead

Last December, JPMorgan Chase & Co. launched Chase Pay, a mobile-payments app that allows customers to order ahead – and get other benefits – at thousands of restaurants, according to chase.com.

Chase worked with LevelUp, a 6-year-old mobile payments startup that has built links to 5,000 restaurants nationwide to offer order ahead functionality. LevelUp has 1 million active users that run $1 million each weekday through their smartphones. Chase gains access to LevelUp’s merchant database through their partnership.

This deal is currently available to LevelUp’s Boston merchants and will roll out nationally in the coming months.

“It took LevelUp years to put that acceptance footprint together, so Chase gets a running start at a key mobile-adoption sector,” Steve Mott, principal at BetterBuyDesign, told Digital Transactions.

The Reality of Order Ahead?

Order Ahead technology is not a proven, fluid method just yet and early adopters will need to work through tricky technology and the necessary manpower to handle orders placed in advance.

While many experts believe order ahead will lead to a major uptick in mobile payments adoption usage, it remains to be seen.

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