Rewards Network helps local restaurants attract full-price customers through promotional programs linked to major loyalty programs. Diners earn rewards for dining at participating restaurants, which encourages them to visit without relying on discounts. The company operates on a pay-for-performance model, charging restaurants based on sales generated from loyalty program participants, and offers flexible funding options. Rewards Network aims to support restaurants in increasing their sales and customer base while providing valuable data insights and verified customer reviews.

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Darden Restaurants’ sales climbed this quarter despite diners shying away from its fine-dining establishments. The company, owner of chains such as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, released earnings Thursday (Dec. 19) that showed total sales increasing 6% to $2.9 billion. While sales were up 7.5% at LongHorn and 2% for Olive Garden, sales for the company’s fine dining restaurants — Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and The Capital Grille — fell by nearly 6% for the quarter

Darden Restaurant Sales Grow Despite Fine Dining Pullback

Chain restaurant bankruptcies are reportedly at their highest level since the pandemic.Among the most recent examples is the casual dining franchise TGI Friday’s, one of more than a dozen high-profile eateries to seek bankruptcy protection between January and October of this year, Bloomberg News reported Thursday (Dec. 5), citing BankruptcyData.According to the report, that’s the most through that date since 2020, and next year could bring more turmoil, with restaurant prices jumping due to increased labor costs, supply chain issues and steeper interest expenses, lessening consumer demand for meals away from home.Bloomberg cited data from Black Box Intelligence showing that restaurant prices rose 44% between 2015 and March of this year, compared to a 26% uptick in grocery prices during the same timeframe.“It’s really hard for somebody to go to a restaurant at the same pace as we did before,” Victor Fernandez, vice president of insights at Black Box Intelligence, said. “That’s putting a lot of pressure on brands.”In addition to TGI Friday’s, the Italian chain Buca di Beppo, fish taco restaurant Rubio’s Coastal Grill, owner of burger and pizza chains BurgerFi and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, and Red Lobster are all among companies seeking reorganization via bankruptcy in a year that has not been easy on the dining industry.“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for ‘24 to be behind us, and I think ‘25 is going to be a great year,” Kate Jaspon, chief financial officer of Dunkin’ parent company Inspire Brands, said at an industry conference in Las Vegas last month.Her comments were reported by CNBC, which included its own statistic from Black Box Intelligence: Restaurant traffic for eateries open at least a year had fallen year over year in each month through September.Meanwhile, high-profile chains such as McDonald’s and Starbucks have reported declines in quarterly sales, disappointing their investors.And while global names like these are seeing sales fall, smaller restaurants are dealing with challenges of their own, like scaring up capital, Mitchell Hipp, divisional vice president at Rewards Network, said in an interview with PYMNTS posted earlier this week.“Most restaurants are undercapitalized to begin with, and it’s the No. 1 business that fails in the U.S.,” he said.Most small-to-mid-sized restaurants only have enough funding to remain open for six months, though they should — ideally — have the capital to keep running for a few years.“Six months goes by quickly when you open up a smaller restaurant. Unless people are flocking through the doors, it almost immediately becomes a situation where [owners] are chasing their tails from day one,” Hipp said

Restaurant Bankruptcies Reportedly At Highest Level Since Pandemic

Uber is expanding its partnership with restaurant technology platform Toast. The new integration between Toast Delivery Services and Uber Direct lets U.S. restaurants save on delivery fees and expand their delivery radius, while using Uber’s delivery network to provide local delivery on phone orders and ones made via Toast digital ordering channels, the companies said in a Thursday (Dec. 5) news release,. This effort builds on the partnership formed by two companies in 2021, and comes at a time when restaurants are struggling to attract diners and find funding

Uber And Toast Team To Offer Commission-Free Delivery

For restaurants, there’s a funding gap, a chasm between gaining access to the capital they need to thrive and grow and the traditional channels offering that capital. Mitchell Hipp, divisional vice president at Rewards Network, told PYMNTS the gap can present itself as the pain points of setting up operations and progressing to become mainstays of the local economy. His insight comes from personal experience. He recounted how he put himself through college by working in the industry. He started as a dishwasher and eventually became an owner-operator

Data-Driven Funding Fuels Restaurant Growth And Fills Tables

The next time you call your favorite restaurant, it may be AI that answers. That’s according to a report Sunday (Sept. 22) by Ars Technica on the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered hosts used by eateries. As the report noted, there are many companies specializing in the service, offering 24-hour responses to questions about things like menus, dress codes and seating arrangements, or making, changing, or canceling reservations

Ai Phone Hosts Become Increasing Part Of Dining Experience

Back in 2004, Yelp’s crowd-sourced business review platform helped create an era of commerce defined by at-your-fingertips convenience. That was then. But two decades later, and Yelp is still contributing to, if not necessarily as strongly defining, the digital category it helped spearhead. After all, convenience and real-time insights are far from going out of style in today’s commerce landscape. Just look at the Thursday (Aug. 8) results from Yelp’s second quarter 2024 earnings report — which show that the company’s net revenue increased by 6% year over year, to $357 million

Yelp Gets Revenue Lift From Ai, Ad Sales In Challenging Environment

Shifts in consumer behavior and advancements in technology are transforming the restaurant industry. The evolving landscape of loyalty and engagement is also a trend to watch, Steve Fusco, president and head of all distribution for Rewards Network, told PYMNTS. “If you look more generally at the direction of technology, everything is moving more toward self-service and frankly, simplicity … a lot of restaurant technologies are adopting that same trend,” Fusco said

How Technology With A Side Of Service Is Shaping Restaurant Loyalty

What has changed is that Bilt has partnered with Rewards Network, Seated, and more, to add their restaurants to the Bilt portfolio.

Bilt Dining: Earn Bonus Points At 20K Restaurants

Investments in technology, data science and analytics pay dividends in uncertain times, Rewards Network Chief Product Officer James Roedding writes in the new PYMNTS eBook, “The Implications of Uncertainty.”The executive team at Rewards Network believes that the best thing we can do to prepare for uncertainty and risk is to grow and strengthen our core operations. The more margin and agility our business builds into our operations, the more likely we will be able to weather any storm. Our predominant use of technology, data and analytics is in service of helping improve our core operations and customer experience.Rewards Network relies on both traditional business intelligence to guide decision-making as well as artificial intelligence (AI) to automate and augment workflows. Analytical expertise and technical skills enable us to quickly respond to changes in our customers, the market and the overall economy. Examples of this range from machine learning credit models, which performed exceptionally well during the “stress test” that COVID-19 presented, to neural networks that find patterns in data. Combining technology and data science adds more intelligence to robotic process automation flows, allowing our team to focus on higher-value work that benefits from human intelligence

Investments In Data Analytics Drive Agility For Rewards Network

Domino’s said its decision to relaunch its rewards program last year is paying off.The quick-service pizza chain released quarterly earnings results Monday (April 29) showing a 5.6% increase in U.S. sales, with management pointing to the rewards program as a driver of that growth.“The program is delivering on our objectives,” CEO Russell Weiner said on an earnings call. “Active member growth rates are up significantly since the launch of our new program; from a percentage, our biggest increases are coming from new lapsed and light customers. So, we’re bringing these new customers into the fold.”As customers become members, he added, “they’re redeeming more than ever before, and increases are being seen across all of our channels, delivery and carryout.”Domino’s reintroduced the rewards program in September, part of a broader trend of eateries resurrecting loyalty offerings.“At a time when most brands are scaling back their loyalty programs and making it more difficult to earn and redeem points, Domino’s is doing the opposite,” Mark Messing, the restaurant’s vice president of digital experience and loyalty, said in a statement at the time. “We want to make it easier to reward our customers and give them more options so they can get rewarded faster.”As PYMNTS noted late last year, the move came on the heels of the chain finally teaming up with third-party aggregators to keep diners in tune with direct ordering channels.On Monday’s call, Weiner noted that Domino’s is now witnessing a larger percentage of single-user transactions on Uber Eats than what it is seeing on its own channels.“Further, this channel is becoming more promotional,” he told analysts. “Customer responses to deals are stronger than to everyday low prices

Domino’S Captures Larger Slice Of Revenue With Rewards Program

Promotes restaurants through loyalty programs

Rewards Network

Promotes restaurants through loyalty programs

Rewards Network

Promotes restaurants through loyalty programs

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