If You're Not Doing This, You Could Be Wasting Money on Fast Food

Robin Shreeves
·3 min read
7

Not only will this save you money, it will save you time.

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Allrecipes

Fast-food restaurants love to entice customers with free items. Right now, Popeyes is having a buy-one-get-one chicken sandwich deal. KFC has a new Ultimate BBQ Fried Chicken Sandwich and an opportunity to win a trip to Aruba. Last month, Wendy’s gave away free fries with the purchase of any other menu item, even a $1 soda.

There was a catch to all of these deals, beyond the usual requirement that you must purchase something to get the offer. Only customers who placed their order through the fast-food restaurants’ own mobile apps or websites (as opposed to a third-party app such as Doordash) were eligible for the offers.

By offering app- or website-only deals, restaurants attract consumers to use off-premise ordering instead of in-person ordering. Why? There are several reasons. Studies show that 25 percent of customers who order on mobile devices spend more money than ordering by other methods. Digital ordering increases order accuracy by 30 percent. These orders also save time and money on labor costs. Additionally, restaurants can capture helpful marketing data through the use of apps and website sales that they can’t through walk-in or drive-thru orders.

By not using an app (or website) to order directly from a fast-food restaurant, you could be losing money on your order, as long as you don’t order more than you usually would if you ordered in person.

Apps Offer More Savings on More Than Just Limited-Time Offers

Many apps also offer loyalty rewards. Some apps keep track of what you spend and give credit for each dollar spent. That credit adds up to free products. Apps may also offer free products on your birthday or simply alert you that a good deal is happening.

These are a few restaurants with apps that will save you money:

  • Starbucks customers earn rewards, known as Stars, and the app keeps track of the Stars, even if customers pay cash or use a credit card at the store. The cashier scans the app at the time of purchase to register the sale. Each dollar spent earns 1 Star. However, if you pay with a registered gift card or preloaded digital Starbucks card, you’ll earn 2 Stars for each dollar spent. Without the app, Starbucks lovers lose out on a lot of free food, even when there isn’t a special promotion.

  • Krispy Kreme’s app offers a free doughnut just for signing up and also offers birthday rewards in addition to its accumulated rewards for purchases.

  • If you’re a fan of Quiznos subs, ordering through the app will save you $5 the first time you use it. After that, you’ll earn 1 point for every dollar spent. Trade points for food. Eighty points earn you a free 8-inch sub. On your birthday, get a buy-one-get-one-free sub.

  • Chipotle offers deals to the general public from time to time, but its app users have the fastest way to regular free food. While rewards members can get points when ordering at the store, app and online orders automatically get rewards points, even if you forget you're a member of the rewards program. Members get free guacamole when they first sign up and 10 points for every $1 spent.

Ordering ahead through the store’s app or website can also save you time, even if you drive to the restaurant to pick up your order. When you get there, you won’t have to wait in line to order. Your food will often be waiting for you to grab and take home.