TULSA, Okla. -- A few days after the new year, QuikTrip, a chain of more than 700 units, rolled out online ordering via its mobile app. The new feature allows customers to order any foodservice item for pickup, from coffee to pizza, and orders can be placed hours in advance. Customers can pay for orders either in-store during pickup or through the mobile app, depending on the nature of the order.
Here are three takeaways from Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip’s move into mobile ordering …
QuikTrip spokesman Mike Thornbrugh recently told local newspaper Tulsa World, “The lines are so blurred. It’s no longer convenience store vs. convenience store. It’s retailers in general against retailers.” The chain’s move to mobile ordering keeps it on the same playing field with existing players in mobile ordering, including Starbucks, which has made headlines recently for its long lines at checkout due to mobile ordering, and Domino’s Pizza.
Thornbrugh also told Tulsa World that mobile ordering capabilities are in a “soft-launch stage,” and that “as more and more people become accustomed to it and understand it, then we’re going to get behind the marketing of it and get that message out.” The World reports that marketing for the mobile ordering features have been limited so far.
QuikTrip’s mobile-ordering options also place the chain in competition with other convenience-store players, including Casey’s General Store, the Ankeny, Iowa-based chain with more than 1,900 locations. Bill Walljasper, Casey’s chief financial officer, said in a recent earnings call that the company’s mobile app had collected more than 600,000 downloads.
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