Jamba Juice is stirring up sales by rolling out a new application functionality that enables customers to order before their arrival on premises, capitalizing on the brand’s recent digital payments integration.

Jamba Juice fans will now be able to bypass in-store lines if they opt to place and pay for their orders via the food and beverage marketer’s app, which will be supported within 600 of its United States locations. The brand is acknowledging its consumers’ massive shift toward using mobile to conduct transactions, prompting it to join forces with ordering platform Olo in a bid to ramp up digital commerce efforts.

“We are in the midst of a huge transformation in how people use smartphones to interact with the world around them,” said Jackie Berg, marketing director at Olo, New York. “We know from studies in the quick service industry that wait time is crucial when it comes to brand market share – since customers are making more of their dining decisions based on convenience today.

“Jamba Juice’s app allows its loyal guests to pre-pay, skip the line, and have their order waiting for them at the counter when they arrive. Reorders are simple so that guests pressed for time can get their order quickly and with the customizations they’d like.”

Catering to time constraints
Jamba Juice’s new smartphone feature will be available for widespread use by mid-November within its eponymous app. The brand may see an uptick in sales due to the tool’s capability to reduce wait times, especially if consumers flock to its locations to pick up holiday drinks and sweets.

Order ahead is currently available in more than 200 stores, with an additional 400 set to roll out the feature in the coming weeks.

Consumers may also set their exact pick-up time, which can be scheduled for the day of, or the following day. This flexibility may gain the brand a slew of new followers who enjoy planning out their weekly meals or morning beverages.

If a company wishes to order breakfast for everyone in the office, the point person for that role can easily indicate the preferred pick-up time 24 hours in advance, within the app’s basket feature.

Jamba Juice claims it is committed to improving the in-store experience, which includes a greater focus on mobile offerings for time-strapped customers who are unable to enjoy their purchases at one of its bricks-and-mortar locations.

Many individuals also appreciate customizing their drinks or snacks to best fit their preferences. Instead of explaining the specifications to an in-store associate, customers can instead input their exact requests into the app.

This strategy will also help the brand compete with others in the quick service restaurant space, which is becoming increasingly mobilized. For example, with Taco Bell’s mobile ordering app showing check growth of 30 percent, the chain recently opted to bring digital ordering to a newly overhauled Web site as it continues to ramp up digital innovation (see story).

Consumers are requesting more ways to connect with marketers at each step of the purchasing cycle.

Additionally, the order ahead functionality will be able to garner more valuable data about users and their purchasing behavior. This will aid Jamba Juice in developing more effective targeted messages as well as increased revenue.

The brand was an early pioneer of mobile ordering, as evidenced by its 2013 partnership with PayPal during which consumers could order ahead and pay via the payment service’s app (see story).

Digital commerce spotlight
Jamba Juice is likely ramping up to compete with Starbucks, another marketer that has rolled out mobile order ahead functions.

Similarly, Jamba is enabling customers to receive and track loyalty points for each purchase made within the app, proving that incentives are king in the QSR sector.

This past June, Jamba Juice also unveiled a mobile wallet based on near field communications that enables users to pay for items with Android Pay and then store and redeem promotions, maintain loyalty credentials and keep track of gift cards (see story).

“Our clients see lifts in frequency and average ticket size when they order through mobile or desktop apps,” Ms. Berg said. “On average, the average ticket is 25-30 percent higher with some brands seeing up to 75 percent higher order sizes in the digital ordering environment.

“There are a few things going on here,” she said. “When guests have the convenience to browse at leisure, without feeling the pressure of needing to make a decision quickly, they order more.

“The element of upsell, customization options, and trying out new menu items they may not have known about definitely plays a role here as well.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely, staff writer on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York