The Five Guys mobile app

Burger chain Five Guys Burgers & Fries is boosting repeat orders by using a credit card-on-file feature that allows customers to easily and securely place online orders via mobile or Web.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries is working with mobile ordering platform OLO and Braintree Payments. Five Guys has both applications that let diners place mobile orders.

“Using a card on file can be beneficial, and if a merchant can integrate the mobile and online experience, there is a good chance users will place more orders,” said Bill Ready, CEO of Braintree, Chicago.

Five Guys is a quick-serve restaurant to 930 nationwide locations.

Mobile dining
Five Guys and OLO began working with Braintree in 2009 to add a card-on-file program to the company’s restaurants.

The card-on-file feature is being used nationwide by Five Guys and lets users tie their online and mobile orders by keeping their credit card’s information.

Users can create an account on http://fiveguys.com and can access it via the app with their stored email and password.

“In the near future, mobile ordering will apply to more restaurants and will be used within the four walls to the restaurant to let users prepay for food while in line,” said Noah Glass, CEO of OLO Online Ordering, New York.

According to Mr. Glass, apps take precedence over mobile Web for ordering.

In the last six months, OLO has found with its clients that for every mobile Web order, five orders are placed via mobile apps.

The Five Guys example shows how retailers and merchants need to take mobile seriously and always have the end user experience in mind.

In addition to payment, the Five Guys app also incorporates product recommendations to help bolster sales.

Save on mobile
In addition to Five Guys, OLO also works with other fast food companies to help them bolster mobile sales.

Most recently, OLO helped Cold Stone Creamery roll out a mobile site to let users order ice cream cakes while on the go (see story).

Saving credit card information for future use is a great way for a company to hook loyal users with a streamlined experience.

However, storing a credit card also brings up security issues for consumers about how their information is being used and needs to be considered top-of-mind for retailers.

“One of the key considerations for any merchant is while there are great benefits to adding a card-on-file feature, merchants need to think about the security concerns connected with them,” Braintree’s Mr. Ready said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York