McDonald’s offers free fries for mobile orders

McDonald's is offering free fries every Friday for the rest of the year for spending at least $1.00 through its mobile app.

The promotion is apparently designed to encourage consumers to download, register and get comfortable using its app. The chain is fielding a similar free-soda promotion on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

McDonald’s enjoys labor savings on mobile orders since they’re sent straight to the kitchen.

Helping shoppers skip lines and avoid waits, mobile ordering also promises to improve the dining experience if McDonald’s can make it part of customers' regular routine. Peter Saleh, a restaurant analyst for BTIG, told CNN that once customers "start using [the app] and get into that habit, it tends to stick."

Steve Easterbrook, president and CEO of McDonald’s, said that mobile app usage is key to correlating and capitalizing on customer data when he spoke at Bernstein’s Annual Strategic Decisions Conference in May.

With over 20 million registered users in the U.S., the mobile app is also key to engagement. The app further supports a “one single ecosystem” for customers, whether they use drive-through, self-order kiosk, mobile auto pay, home delivery or the traditional counter. Said Mr. Easterbrook, “They want to be treated as that one individual, so we always have to blend the technology platforms so that we can engage with them in one compelling way.”

Business Insider Intelligence predicts that by 2020, mobile order-ahead will account for 10.7 percent of all quick-service restaurant (QSR) sales.

In May, Starbucks extended its mobile app and pay, formerly only available to rewards members, to non-members via an e-mail submission. The coffee chain said the move supported personalization efforts.

“When it comes to how a retailer focuses on the customer, we see too many examples of businesses choosing between an experience that solely focuses on convenience or one that simply highlights community,” said Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of Starbucks, in a release. “But we don’t believe there needs to be this type of a tradeoff, and our third place can and will continue to unite both experiences.”

• McDonald's is giving away fries for the rest of the year ... if you spend $1 on its app – CNN
• McDonald's is giving away free fries every Friday. Here's how to get some. – Business Insider
• Steve Easterbrook Presents at Bernstein 34th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2018 (Transcript) – Seeking Alpha
• Starbucks Aims for More Mobile Orders – The Wall Street Journal
• Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson Unveils Innovation Strategy to Propel the Company’s Next Decade of Growth at Starbucks 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders – Starbucks
• Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson Unveils Innovation Strategy to Propel the Company’s Next Decade of Growth at Starbucks 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders – Starbucks