BJ's Restaurants Launches New Mobile App - Analyst Blog

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI has come up with a new mobile application that allows its customers to place their order in advance and also pay without waiting for their check. This app can be downloaded on iPhone and Android smartphones and tablets. The app is intended to save time and speed up service to customers, especially during peak hours.

The app provides a Dine-In Order Ahead feature that allows guests to place their order in advance. Their orders are already in progress by the time they are seated. The Preferred Waitlist feature allows customers to view their wait times and a customer who chooses the Dine-In Order Ahead option is automatically shifted up the preferred list.  Guests who do not want to order ahead can use the Preferred Waitlist feature to keep a track of current wait times while moving up in the preferred list even before entering the restaurant. One other important feature is Mobile Pay that saves time while making payments.

As soon as the guests use any of these features, they get entitled to BJ's Premier Rewards points. The company has also launched a limited time offer for its guests who use this feature where they can save $5 on all orders of $20 or more.

With a unique position in the commoditized hyper-competitive bar and grill segment, along with a viable business strategy, BJ's Restaurants offers investors one of the strongest growth stories in this space.  The newly-introduced app supports this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company's business strategy that has helped it to generate 20.0% more transactions per square foot compared to other casual dining chains.

The digital wave has hit the U.S. fast casual restaurant sector as more and more restaurants are deploying technology to enable a better guest experience. Other restaurant chains that have recently joined the race include Panera Bread Company PNRA, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG and Brinker International, Inc. EAT.