Taco Bell has recently evolved its menu and overhauled its digital experience. Now, the chain has unveiled its latest iteration: Taco Bell Go Mobile. The prototype is specifically designed for guests to order ahead through the brand's mobile app to create a frictionless experience.
"With demand for our drive-thru at an all-time high, we know adapting to meet our consumers rapidly changing needs has never been more important," says Taco Bell President, Global Chief Operating Officer, Mike Grams. "The Taco Bell Go Mobile restaurant concept is not only an evolved physical footprint, but a completely synchronized digital experience centered around streamlining guest access points. For the first time, our guests will have the ability to choose the pickup experience that best fits their needs, all while never leaving the comfort of their cars.”
Scheduled to debut in Q1 of 2021, Taco Bell Go Mobile features five main updates targeted for digital adoption to improve the customer experience. The first is a smaller footprint. The new restaurant is about 1,325 square feet compared to the average 2,500-square-foot Taco Bell. The new stores will have two drive-thru lanes, including a new priority pickup lane with rapid service for customers who order via the brand’s proprietary app. This new lane will also supplement the existing, traditional lane. Powered by smart kitchen technology that's integrated with the Taco Bell app, the new restaurants will detect when guests have arrived at the restaurant and suggest the quickest route to a seamless pickup experience. Another new element: Taco Bell Go Mobile customers will have the option to receive their order via contactless curbside pickup, another convenient alternative that consumers are looking for. The new restaurants will also include tablet ordering at drive-thrus and curbside pickup, both of which will be operated by a concierge service of team members, called "bellhops."
While the first Taco Bell Go Mobile restaurant is still a few months away from opening, the brand has already begun incorporating some of its new features in existing restaurants. In addition to enhancing restaurants, Taco Bell continues to improve on other aspects of the QSR experience that customers are looking for right now, like speed. The brand has shared that the average time spent in a drive-thru has been reduced by more than 15 seconds since the first quarter of 2020. Taco Bell has also recently rolled out other digital innovation outside of the restaurant experience. Launched nationally in July, the Taco Bell mobile app's new loyalty program gives fans a deeper level of customization in both what they're ordering, and now how they're ordering. Taco Bell's focus on improving drive-thru service and encouraging guests to order ahead unlocks a faster and more accurate restaurant experience than ever before.