Mark Lennihan / AP Images
Chick-fil-A regularly offers free items for people who install the app.
- Bob Bennett was the general manager and product leader for the Nike app until 2017 and is currently the vice president and general manager of consumer engagement for Petco.
- At a keynote speech during the eTail West conference in Palm Springs, California, Bennett said he remembers that he and his team were baffled when they saw Chick-fil-A shoot up to the top of the App Store's charts.
- He said he realized the chain's strategy to offer free items through the app was a cost-effective way to gather more customer data and drive in-store sales.
- "And then when they went to the store to get their sandwich, they also bought a Coke. And they bought other sandwiches, they bought other things," Bennett said.
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Bob Bennett may have never worked for Chick-fil-A, but he can recognize a good app strategy when he sees it.
The product veteran is currently the vice president and general manager of consumer engagement for Petco and was the general manager and product leader for the Nike app until 2017.
At a keynote speech during the eTail West conference in Palm Springs, California, Bennett explained the ins-and-outs of utilizing apps to drive engagement and sales within a brand. In his speech, he used the example of the Chick-fil-A app, which regularly shoots up to the top of the App Store's charts.
Bennett said he remembers he and his team once being baffled when they saw Chick-fil-A hit the top slot in the App Store.
"And we were like, 'What just happened?'" he said.
Bennett and his team later realized that the chain was offering a free chicken sandwich to anybody who installed the app and then went to the store to pick up the order.
Bennett said that this tactic of offering free giveaways seemed to be effective for the chain. An app's cost per install (CPI) rate - or the cost to the company for each user download that results from advertisements - in this category is generally $5 to $7. Bennett surmised that the cost to make a chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A was certainly less than this.
By offering the free sandwich to people who install the app, Chick-fil-A is able to collect data from customers engaging with the brand.
The next step - to have customers come into the store to pick up their free item - was also reaping rewards.
"And then when they went to the store to get their sandwich, they also bought a Coke," Bennett said, explaining how the free item would have the effect of luring in a customer to buy more food to go along with their free item. "And they bought other sandwiches, they bought other things."
A Chick-fil-A representative did not return Business Insider's request for comment on the app strategy. But Bennett recommended that brands learn from Chick-fil-A's success to figure out what type of app-based perks could be of value to a customer and a low cost to the retailer.
As for Chick-fil-A, the tactic is tried and true.
"You'll see them bounce up and down in the charts with that tactic," Bennett said. "And it's really interesting."