Dunkin’ Donuts Pushes its Mobile Payments Connection Even Harder

We talk a lot about Starbucks and its mobile payments connections. In a lot of ways, it pioneered the mobile order-ahead concept, even to the point where it showed us some of the hazards of mobile payments in quick-service restaurant operations. Not far behind is Dunkin’ Donuts, who has been in the mobile payments fray since early days. In fact, it’s recently stepped up its already substantial game still further.

Dunkin’ recently announced a measure to bring in CardFree, a mobile wallet provider for merchant users, for a multi-year agreement to build and operate Dunkin’s mobile order-ahead and mobile payments operations. With the agreement, Dunkin’ gets access to a range of new technical possibilities, including delivery, curbside pickup, and even catering.

That’s just one of the most recent bricks in the wall for Dunkin’, which has been steadily expanding for some time now. While the mobile order app is only available to members of Dunkin’s rewards program—possibly limiting its overall reach—but Dunkin’ is pursuing a particular customer segment: the repeat customer.

By offering the app users some specific rewards, and by only offering the app to loyalty members, Dunkin’ may not be getting all it could, but it is likely avoiding the Starbucks problem of too many customers at once. Additionally, Dunkin’ keeps a specific team on hand at every store specifically for filling order-ahead orders, thus preventing a logjam at the checkout counter. Since repeat customers tend to have a static order, Dunkin’ could readily add capabilities to repeat orders or save a certain order to be placed in advance.

Basically, Dunkin’ has been augmenting its mobile position for quite some time now, and the results have been impressive. It’s been working hard to be all things to all its customers, and with so many options, customers will be hard-pressed to not find what they want on hand here. Being able to tailor an experience to customers’ desires should make for a good experience and improved chances of repeat business.

The versatility of Dunkin’ Donuts’ offerings is hard to pass up, and should be instrumental in both keeping their current customer base and gaining them new customers interested in getting in on the action. Mobile payments capability has proven its worth frequently, and this time is no different.