Panera Bread wants to know more about its customers’ preferences, interests, and habits—and is tapping Amazon’s palm reading payment and loyalty system, Amazon One, to gather that data.
According to TechCrunch, Panera will be the first restaurant to launch Amazon One in its cafés, enabling customers to both pay and access the popular chain’s loyalty program.
How It Works
Using computer vision technology, Amazon One can generate a unique palm print for every customer. After the initial setup, Amazon can associate a credit card with the unique palm print when the customer signs in at a kiosk. If they also happen to have an Amazon account, that too will be added to their Amazon One profile. All palm print images are then stored and encrypted within their cloud.
In an email with TechCrunch, Panera SVP and Chief Digital Officer George Hanson said:
“At Panera, we’ve always grounded ourselves in the warmth we share for our guests and our associates– and we look at technology to find ways to make that experience better. So for us, this is a way to make the guest journey even more efficient and personalized, through a contactless, fast, and secure process so that they can enjoy what they love about Panera quicker and easier. Partnering with Amazon brings a scale and network that is attractive to us.”
Loyalty Programs: A Host of Perks
With technology and consumer preferences constantly evolving and changing, businesses must continue to do the same. One way to draw and retain customer loyalty is to create a solid customer loyalty program.
Once implemented strategically, these programs offer a wealth of data, revealing key metrics such as customer behavior. With this information, businesses can personalize their offerings and reward customers for repeated purchases.
With the wealth of data to be gathered in this partnership, Panera is hoping to tap into customers preferences and better target them with more personalized offers and recommendations.
