Burnley FC app homepage Nov.13 (left), Bodean's app payment page (right)
Burnley FC fans love iPie app
By Retail Technology | Wednesday January 8 2014
Football club is among first foodservice venues, also including BodeanÂ’s, to use new mobile payment app launched specifically for hospitality outlets
Preoday has announced Burnley Football Club (FC) as an early adopter of a free app it is launching today that allows hospitality operators the ability for their customers to order and pay for food, drinks and other merchandise via their mobile devices.
The Championship Football League club is taking advantage of the free service to create its own branded apps for fans, which includes the option to pre-order food and drink before the game, or at half time, via the iPie app.
The app has delivered strong results from the first nine Burnley matches, including 108% increase in actual customer spend on iPie app against budgeted cash spend 33.5% compound growth in the number of orders since its introduction. The system also cut service time of app orders at collection points to 25.7 seconds. And it delivered an average open rate of direct mailing to Burnley iPie users of 44%.
Chris Gibson, head of catering at Burnley FC, said: “The response from our fans to the iPie app has exceeded our expectations. We are already seeing regular repeat orders on the app, transaction times halved and above all transaction values rising by 108%.
"Likewise, the number of shared orders have surged, which reduced queues dramatically, making our matches a more profitable as well as a safer experience.”
Speed service and improve loyalty
Other named launch partners include barbecue restaurant group Bodean’s, whose sites in Clapham, Fulham, Soho and Tower Hill will be trialling the app, and Europe’s largest multi-arts and conference venue The Barbican managed by Searcys, where theatre goers can arrange their interval drinks with their mobile phone.
Andre Blais, owner of Bodean’s said: “It's a fascinating tool which can streamline and speed up our takeaway and home delivery services via an exciting app. They are a low cost base operator with software and an app that has been long awaited in our sector.”
Ryan Nelson, marketing director at The Barbican, also commented: “As part of our mission to provide a world class arts and learning experience we are always looking to improve our customers’ visits. We are excited to be working with Preoday to speed up service at our bars and integrate mobile technology into our theatre offering.”
The developer said its new online service would allow businesses to create their own branded app within a day. The completed app is published on the App Store and then marketed by the business to their customers as a new service, with no brand disintermediation as with some other mobile ordering apps.
The queue-busting mobile proposition also comes with a marketing engine for creating loyalty programmes, offers and recommendations to complement its ability to integrate with electronic point-of-sale (EPoS) systems.
