Brief:

• Fast food chain Chick-fil-A boosted sales conversions after updating its mobile application to allow for credit card payments, Digiday reported. The additional payment option was added to the "Chick-fil-A One" app after customers complained about being required to upload money into the app before making a purchase.
• The company in February redesigned its mobile app to show two buttons for making a payment via a smartphone: "Pay with credit card" or "Pay with Chick-fil-A One." The company measured the effectiveness of the change using a visual A/B comparison analysis through mobile testing platform Taplytics.
• Customers who want to pay with a credit card can now skip the step of having to add money to their mobile "One Card" from another payment source like a gift card, Apple Pay, Android Pay or credit card, according to Digiday. Jay Ramirez, mobile product manager at Chick-fil-A, said credit card usage rose 6% after the change.

Insight:

Chick-fil-A's app redesign shows the importance of listening to customer reviews in the Apple and Android app stores, which are viewed by millions of people and can make or break whether users choose to download. Restaurant marketers need to be mindful of their tech-savvy customers that prefer to order and pay for food on mobile devices, especially as they're served a growing variety of choices for a quick meal, including delivery services like UberEats, Seamless and GrubHub, along with convenient tools to order meals ahead on a smartphone to skip the line.

Chick-fil-A listened to its customers and is now reaping the rewards of giving greater freedom in the way they make payments, which signals the importance of integrating consumers' preferences into a brand's marketing mix. Chick-fil-A's app has been downloaded 11 million times since it launched in June 2016, and an October study by Business Insider and Foursquare found that Chick-fil-A locations had more foot traffic per restaurant in more states than any other fast food company in the U.S., including major chain McDonald’s.

The updated app also includes a loyalty program that awards free food to people who place orders with a smartphone, per Digiday. While the company didn't disclose how much its rewards program helps to drive sales, mobile product manager Jay Ramirez told the publication that these members tend to spend more money and visit the chain more frequently.