The challenge
Keeping made-to-order food fresh as orders skyrocketed
Since the launch of mobile order ahead in 2019, Whataburger's off-premise sales have skyrocketed. To maintain their high standards for food quality and service at unprecedented scale, Whataburger needed to integrate off-premise ordering with their on-premise operations.
Whataburger knew location-awareness would be critical to bridge this gap. With real-time pickup ETAs and automatic arrival detection, Whataburger could maximize efficiency in their restaurants while optimizing the experience for customers. But location was relevant to many aspects of their strategy, from driving on-premise loyalty engagement to helping customers find nearby restaurants.
Whataburger needed all-in-one, developer-friendly infrastructure that could support a wide array of use cases, fit into their existing architecture, and help them launch new features quickly.
The solution
Live ETAs on the kitchen display, and a push notification on arrival
Whataburger uses Radar to provide restaurants with visibility into pickup customer ETAs to increase speed of service and labor efficiency while maintaining food quality. When a customer places a mobile pickup order and opts in to location tracking, Whataburger starts tracking a trip in Radar. As the customer travels, Radar regularly calculates their ETA and sends it to Whataburger systems in real time via webhook. Whataburger displays the ETAs on their kitchen display systems and alerts staff when Radar detects the customer's arrival — helping them sequence order fulfillment and prepare orders quickly.
Radar's turnkey integration with Braze makes it easy for Whataburger to message pickup customers at the right moment. When Radar detects a customer's arrival, Braze triggers a push notification with pickup instructions in real time, helping Whataburger reduce calls to restaurants and build trust with their customers.
The results
27% more repeat orders, and 12x engagement among opted-in users
Whataburger piloted the order-ahead experience at one location before rolling it out nationwide. Radar's flexible APIs and user-friendly dashboards helped Whataburger launch the MVP in less than two months, and positive feedback from restaurant operations made the rollout decision easy.
By increasing the efficiency of order fulfillment and minimizing wait times, Whataburger provides better customer experiences and builds loyalty. In Q1 2023, location-tracked orders increased by 25% and repeat orders grew by 27%. With over 80% of users opted into location services and a 12x higher engagement rate among opted-in users, Whataburger customers highly value the convenience of location-aware experiences.
