Dive Brief:
- Portillo’s is testing computer vision AI to improve drive-thru times, executives said during an ICR presentation on Tuesday.
- The company has already shaved 15 seconds from its average drive-thru time, but is working on speeding service by 45 more seconds, CEO Michael Osanloo said. Portillo’s is working to reduce its drive-thru times from roughly six minutes to five.
- Portillo’s has leaned heavily on technology of late to boost speed of service and customer engagement. It has completed its deployment of kiosks across its system of over 90 restaurants and will roll out a rewards program, Portillo’s Perks, at the end of the first quarter, Osanloo said.
Dive Insight:
Portillo’s has been working on improving drive-thru times since last year after lagging 2019 numbers. Computer vision technology is helping take some of the “cognitive load” off of managers by distilling relevant information in real time, Keith Correia, Portillo’s chief information officer, said at ICR.
“It’s a simple thing, but it’s had amazing early results in our test program,” Osanloo said.
The information has been most useful during busy times and allows managers to quickly glance at a dashboard to see where there is room for improvement. The system provides visual cues, like the screen flashing red, to management if it sees a car sitting for four minutes that no one has serviced. This allows managers to redeploy labor, Correia said.
“It's very simple for them to know exactly how they're performing during various shifts, and it's going to make a big difference for us as we scale this and deploy it in our business,” Correia said.
The company also completed its deployment of kiosks across its system last year and immediately saw guest adoption and received positive feedback from customers, Correia noted.
“These are easy to use,” Correia said. “It's a throughput alternative, in fact, to other ways for them to transact with us, to go up to the front cash area, to go through the drive-thru.”
Customer adoption of kiosks has been about 25%, and this channel has resulted in a 15% higher check and roughly a 1% increase in restaurant comparables, Correia said.
“It’s a great start for us, knowing that we're about two and a half months in,” he said. “We're expecting that comp benefit to continue for most of 2025 and we're not done yet. So there's more that we can do to drive that adoption rate up.”
That includes making sure that kiosks are highly visible to guests and working on adding more upselling software for kiosk updates.
The forthcoming Portillo’s Perks program will also further guest engagement. The program is compatible with Apple Wallet for easy access and can be scanned at any location. It is transaction-based, but will allow Portillo’s to get to know more about its guests and thus lead to more personalization, Correia said. As guests visit, they receive badges that can be personalized. The program can include special officers and invite guests to try a new limited-time officer or new product. People can also use badges to redeem Portillo’s swag, which is particularly popular among guests, Correia said.
“We will use data over time to drive the timing and the relevance of these offers so they become more and more material to our guests and incentivize them to visit,” Correia said. “And that's where we get the incremental transactions and the value of the program for us.”
Osanloo said the company expects 1.5 million to 1.7 million members by mid-summer.
