Chipotle Introduces Mobile Drive-Thru

Chipotle Mexican Grill (Denver) has begun rolling out a new drive-thru lane in some of its stores with the goal of increasing efficiency and convenience. Customers will not be able to place orders through the new drive-thrus, however. Instead, they will be used by customers who have placed orders online or on their mobile devices.

According to CNBC, the change comes at a time when its customers no longer view its assembly line-style ordering as a convenient practice, and when a significant amount of its customers place online orders, so the goal is for the drive-thru lane to help meet the demand. Some of the obstacles ahead center on maintaining the convenience factor, which might include adding dedicated parking spots for customers who arrive before their scheduled pickup time.

Digital orders accounted for 8.8 percent of total sales last quarter – a 40 percent rise from a year ago. The company expects that figure to grow, but has declined to comment before its upcoming investor call on June 27.