NEW YORK (AP) – McDonald’s acknowledged on Wednesday that it lost 500 million customer transactions in the U.S. since 2012 and laid out its plans to get more people back into its restaurants – including by letting them order and pay on their mobile phones by the end of the year.
The world’s biggest burger chain said during its investor day in Chicago that it lost some of its most loyal fans to other major fast-food chains, rather than to newer, smaller rivals. It also said it will more aggressively market items such as coffee and pastries to draw customers, and hinted that it is looking to expand delivery in major markets.
McDonald’s outlined its plans after having recorded its fourth straight year of declining guest counts at established U.S. locations in 2016, despite the fanfare over the rollout of an all-day breakfast menu. The company also trimmed its domestic store base for the second year in a row.
The chain has said it needs to do a better job of making ordering convenient, but hadn’t previously specified when it would make mobile order-and-pay and curbside pickup available. Starbucks Corp. already offers mobile order-and-pay, an option the coffee chain has hailed as a success but also blamed for creating congestion at pickup counters.
In addition to letting customers order on their phones, McDonald’s noted it is transforming restaurants so that they incorporate elements such as ordering kiosks and table service. CEO Steve Easterbrook, who took over in March 2015, also noted Wednesday the potential for delivery, with 75 percent of the population in the company’s top five markets – including the U.S. – living within three miles of a McDonald’s.