Loyalty & Rewards Strategy

Chipotle is courting Gen Z consumers with a new college-focused rewards program, called Chipotle U Rewards, according to a press release.

Participating college students will receive 1,000 Chipotle rewards points and their accumulation rate will change from 10 points per dollar to 12 points per dollar.

The rewards program could help drive spending and visits by younger consumers as the brand looks to regain its footing after two quarters of shrinking same-store sales. 

The program is designed specifically to appeal to college students, and requires enlisting consumers to validate their enrollment through ID.me or through Chipotle’s site. The burrito brand teased that the program could have other features, like “surprise drop[s] during finals, game days or graduation giveaways,” according to the press release.

“Chipotle has long been a go-to destination for students' celebratory meals, and now members will be given special offers that tie to specific milestones throughout their college journey,” Curt Garner, Chipotle’s president, chief strategy and technology officer, said in a statement.

Chipotle also worked with Urban Outfitters to launch a series of consumer items, including water bottles, throw blankets and bean bag chairs, available at Urban Outfitters starting on Wednesday. 

The chain has in the past run promotions aimed specifically at Gen Z consumers, like its Halloween late-night hours and ads featuring athletes from Ohio State University. But the addition to its core rewards program is a more significant play, combining targeted offers with an overall value play.

CEO Scott Boatwright teased the launch of the rewards program on the brand’s earnings call several weeks ago, saying the chain was looking to “get a little favorability on consumer confidence,” and that the rewards move would “drive increased engagement with the college students across the country, which are big fans of our brand.” 

Chipotle’s same-store sales fell by 4% in Q2, according to the earnings call, a significant shortfall. Boatwright told analysts that Chipotle had several initiatives planned, following its Summer of Extras program, to increase enrollment in and engagement with its loyalty program.

Competition between restaurant brands over consumer spending has intensified as diners pull back on spending occasions. Much of the menu innovation over the last year and a half, like refreshers and snacking items, has been intended to court younger consumers. Chipotle’s college rewards program is one of the first times that a restaurant company has embedded a Gen Z-heavy strategy directly in the architecture of its rewards program.

Wingstop plans to pilot a loyalty program during the fourth quarter, with a systemwide launch expected in 2026, CEO Michael Skipworth said Wednesday during the brand’s Q2 2025 earnings call.

Skipworth said the program is “designed to strengthen guest engagement by encouraging repeat visits” but did not share further details about the future platform.

The rewards program will leverage information gathered from the chain’s proprietary tech stack, MyWingstop, which has been gathering guest data to offer personalized content. That database now encompasses 60 million guests.

Investing in technology continues to be a key strategy at Wingstop. Those investments have paid off, with digital transactions now making up more than 72% of the company’s systemwide sales mix. 

Skipworth said the rollout of its digital kitchen display platform, Wingstop Smart Kitchen, and the forthcoming loyalty program explain why management is confident about reaching its goal of $3 million average unit volumes. During Q2, AUVs were at $2.1 million.

Wingstop already uses MyWingstop to build guest engagement. The database was used to inform guests of the relaunch of Crispy Chicken Tenders. 

During that relaunch, the company saw “reactivation of lapsed users at a level we haven’t seen any menu innovation in the past two years,” Skipworth said. This has helped inform how the company plans to design its loyalty program, Alex Kaleida, Wingstop’s CFO and senior vice president, said during the call.

Wingstop also could use the loyalty program to help boost sales for lesser known products or boost slower dayparts, such as weekday lunch or late night, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh said in an emailed report. 

Loyalty could help drive traffic and bolster same-store sales. Wingstop reported a rare same-store sales decline of 1.9% during Q2 — the first decline in three years.

Other fast casual chains have been updating or leveraging rewards programs to build better guest engagement. Portillo’s launched an app-less reward program earlier this year that uses digital wallets.

Chipotle amplified its rewards program with a Summer of Extras campaign, a three-month gamified experience that offers members extra points, badges and prices upon reaching milestones. That campaign drew new members into the rewards program and boosted frequency and year-over-year spend. 

Portillo’s has added a loyalty program, called Portillo’s Perks, that does not require an app and is based in consumers’ mobile digital wallets, the company said Monday.

Rewards are based on frequency and consumption habits, the brand said, rather than banked points redeemed by the consumer. 

Portillo’s aims to enlist between 1.5 million and 1.7 million customers in its loyalty program by midsummer, according to the press release.

Portillo’s expects the loyalty program to contribute to traffic growth throughout the year, CEO Michael Osanloo said during the chain’s most recent earnings call.

The frequency element of the rewards structure, combined digital wallets rather than traditional app-based programs, “allows us to truly personalize offers, so we're able to surprise and delight our guests with easy access and relevant rewards,” Osanloo said. 

The frequency focus offers the brand greater control of what sorts of discounts it offers, and the rewards given through the program could change based on market conditions, he said. In the Chicago area, he added, the loyalty program might serve to drive repeat visits, while elsewhere offers might focus on building brand awareness or driving trial of specific menu items.

“We can customize the richness of the offer to suit the needs of the business and our guests,” Osanloo said. 

Keith Correia, the company’s chief information officer, said the program was designed to minimize friction.

“We eliminated common loyalty program pain points by integrating directly with the digital wallet already on guests' phones—no extra apps to download or passwords to remember,” Correia said.

Osanloo said the digital wallet feature will avoid “app fatigue” among consumers. Consumers earn badges based on frequency, ranging from a First Bite badge for new members to a Top Dog award for special spendthrifts. Consumers get large fries as a welcome offer, with personalized perks following, the company said. 

The loyalty scheme is one of Portillo’s four pillars intended to grow traffic alongside the deployment of kiosks, advertising outside of Chicago and improving operations and speed of service. Traffic fell 3.7% in Q4.  

According to Portillo’s 10-K, same-restaurant sales fell 0.6% in 2024, a modest decrease. The chain’s average unit volume fell from $9.1 million in 2023 to $8.7 million in 2024, based on eroding same-store sales and the opening of 10 new units. An AUV that high is enviable among publicly traded restaurant companies, but the chain has previously said it is targeting a $10 million AUV, making any slippage in its average a worrying sign. 

Blaze Pizza launched a new app and reworked loyalty program in partnership with Thanx, the companies said in an emailed press release Monday.

Thanx and Blaze have already transitioned the brand’s existing 5 million rewards members to the new program. 

Blaze said the rewards program will feature more personalized rewards and that it will add features like in-app exclusives, secret menus and, potentially, brand merchandise.

Such perks could help Blaze find a badly needed edge. In recent years, the brand’s store count has fallen as the whole fast casual pizza segment generally has struggled in the post-pandemic period. According to its most recent franchise disclosure document, Blaze had 313 units at the start of 2022 and 296 at the end of 2023. Its store base may have eroded further in the interim: the press release announcing the new loyalty program said the chain had over 270 locations.

Blaze said the new rewards program streamlines the in-store experience, as guests can link their cards to a rewards account, eliminating the need to scan receipts or remember passwords. 

The brand said the structure of the program was similar to its previous version, and consumers will continue to receive the same benefits, in addition to the forthcoming additions.

There’s at least one other benefit for Blaze. While proprietary software ecosystems are attractive for massive multinationals like Yum Brands, they can impose onerous costs on smaller brands. 

Switching to a partner-built digital system saves Blaze from having to build and maintain its own tech stack. A streamlined platform will allow the chain to reduce costs and development time, the chain said. 

“What previously took months to customize can now be done in days, allowing Blaze to quickly iterate and enhance digital offerings,” Blaze said.

Other competing brands in fast casual pizza are also making strategic shifts. &pizza has pivoted to a franchised model, which its CEO hopes will help it expand beyond its traditional markets. Like Blaze, &pizza previously switched away from its own tech stack, partnering with Olo and Toast to reduce costs. While Mod Pizza shuttered stores last year, it was acquired by Elite Restaurant Group in a move that averted bankruptcy. 

Sweetgreen has launched a points-based loyalty program, SG Rewards, to replace Sweetpass, a tiered subscription program that consumers found too complicated, the company announced in a Thursday press release. 

SG members earn 10 points for every dollar spent, and get access to unspecified perks and members-only deals. The points can be redeemed for entrees or sides, according to the press release.

CEO Jonathan Neman said during a February earnings call that the loyalty shift would help improve Sweetgreen’s value proposition — a vital consideration as consumers remain price sensitive and economic confidence falters.   

Sweetgreen’s new program has been in the works since last year. The program was created in response to consumer desire for a more flexible rewards program, Neman said in a statement.

“SG Rewards offers more value, more flexibility and more ways to enjoy Sweetgreen — from everyday surprise & delight moments to members-only deals and special perks,” Neman said. 

The Sweetpass program that preceded SG Rewards included consumer challenges and a subscription tier, which cost members $100 annually, that gave consumers $3 discounts on orders.

To promote adoption of the new program, the salad brand is offering some time-limited perks. Consumers who sign up and complete a purchase in April will receive 1,000 bonus points, equivalent to the amount earned after $100 in spend. Existing members who make an eligible purchase before April 11 will also receive 1,000 bonus points. Those bonus points are enough to earn an order of the company’s air-fried Ripple Fries, which were introduced in March, according to the press release.

On the earnings call, Neman said he expected the new program — combined with investments in menu innovation and personalized offers — would result in transaction growth. 

Sweetgreen managed positive comps and traffic last year, Chief Financial Officer Mitch Reback said on the brand’s earnings call. Full-year traffic rose 2%, while same-store sales increased a total of 6%. Those numbers were impressive, given the stagnation of same-store sales at many brands, but lagged behind some fast casual competitors, like Chipotle and Cava. Nonetheless, the brand still posted a $90 million net loss for fiscal 2024, according to its 10-K, though that was an improvement over its $113 million net loss in 2023. 

While Sweetgreen is still the segment leader for fast casual salads, there are other chains looking to unseat it. Just Salad, in particular, has made moves that resemble Sweetgreen’s in recent months. Just Salad added heartier options focused on the dinner daypart, debuting drive-thrus and raising $200 million in capital. If 2025 brings Sweetgreen strong traffic, the salad chain could separate itself from competitors, especially if consumer confidence in the category continues to crumble as a result of macroeconomic uncertainty. 

Scooter’s Coffee has redesigned its loyalty program as a points-based system in its app. Consumers now earn five points, called Smiles, for every dollar spent on orders placed in the app. Diners who scan their app at Scooter’s but don’t use it to pay for an order get three points per dollar, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive.

This replaces a previous loyalty program, which operated as a sort of punchcard system, with consumers earning a free drink after a dozen visits, according to an archived version of Scooter’s franchising website.

The new program has more flexible redemption options, with customers able to redeem points for almost any item on Scooter’s menu.

The redesigned system serves dual purpose for Scooter’s. On the one hand, expanded loyalty flexibility gives consumers greater opportunities for personalization and thus may drive frequency and loyalty. On the other, by giving in-app purchases a 66% faster rate of accrual for points than out-of-app purchases, Scooter’s will likely drive traffic through its first party digital channels. This behavior would allow Scooter’s to secure a significant trove of consumer data to mine for marketing insights and promotional purposes.

According to the press release, customers can redeem points for “food items, drink modifiers like cold foam and extra espresso shots, and cans of Red Bull,” for the first time. The program also awards badges and status levels to its users based on frequency.

The program has three frequency-based tiers: Buddy, Bestie and Ride-or-Die. As customers move up the ranks, they unlock features like additional points per purchase, birthday rewards and exclusive offers.

In the app, redemption options are grouped by their price in points, and once a consumer earns enough points, they can choose a reward to be redeemed in a future order. Consumers can also keep tabs on available rewards, check their status level and the number of points they have.

Drinks earned in the previous program are still available, and those consumers who had racked up points in the old-system will receive a “one-time Smiles boost to reflect the new program’s earn rate structure,” according to the press release.

The simplest way to drive personalization in a loyalty program is to make most of the menu available for redemption. While this may result in consumers opting for more expensive or lower-margin redemption items, it gives diners a greater sense of autonomy. 

Scooter’s is far from alone in reworking its loyalty program, as inflationary pressures change restaurant customers’ priorities. Blaze Pizza just this week announced it was making its program’s rewards more expansive, while Sweetgreen recently switched from a subscription discount model to a points-based program.