Loyalty Heats Up Digital Sales on National French Fry Day

Whether you like them salted, smothered, or soaked in ketchup, French fries are one of the most popular side orders for diners all over the world. In America alone, we consume over 4.5 billion pounds of fries every year. And each year, on July 13th, restaurant brands pay homage to the delectable spud by celebrating National French Fry Day. (Not that we need another reason to answer “Yes!” to the age-old question, “Do you want fries with that?”)

At Punchh, our clients leverage food holidays like National French Fry Day in increasingly clever and innovative ways, sending personalized offers and marketing campaigns that surprise, delight, and engage their network of loyalty guests, while incenting new customers to download their branded mobile app and join their loyalty program. 

Of the 200+ brands we serve, over 60 of them sell French fries as one of their menu options. This year, those brands saw an increase of 26% more fry transactions over National French Fry Day in 2020. But what’s driving this bump in sales? While post-pandemic restaurant recovery is certainly gaining rapid momentum, the brands that have seen the largest spike in revenue are the ones that leverage multiple channels and consumer touchpoints to differentiate the customer experience and stand out from the competition. 

Over eight million guests received French fry offers from Punchh brands this year, which contributed to over $27.5 million in loyalty sales on July 13th. That’s a 40% increase in loyalty sales alone over National French Fry Day 2020. Impressive growth that was created, in part, by the millions of unique marketing messages that hit the mobile devices and inboxes of fry lovers all over the country who responded in a big way by redeeming nearly half a million fry offers in just a single day.

But food holidays aren’t the only opportunity to capitalize on innovative offers and messaging to acquire and retain loyal customers. Many of our clients create their own opportunities through brand-specific seasonal offers and promotions that grab the attention of both first-time and returning guests. For example, we recently spoke with Pancheros Mexican Grill about their success in changing the sales trajectory of their brand during traditionally slower months. Their one-of-a-kind promotions and campaigns have garnered a cult following of Pancheros fans and helped skyrocket loyalty participation and sales. 

Whether you sell fries, fuel, furniture, or Ferraris, it has never been more important to lean into customer loyalty to drive higher visit frequency and spend. At Punchh, we’ve learned that the fastest way to acquire and retain loyal customers is by using the first-party data they trust you with to deliver a better, more personalized experience back to them.

If you’d like to learn more about how Punchh collects data at every consumer touchpoint to help you segment, target, and engage your customers more effectively, contact one of our loyalty experts today.

Thank you to the Punchh Data Team for the above statistics, which were pulled from the Punchh Loyalty, Offers, and Engagement Platform.