Quick Pick-Up instead of drive-thru: KFC is changing the rules of the game

The company has created a new service, Quick Pick-Up, as an alternative to the classic drive-thru.

Restaurant formats like a drive-thru, which gained record popularity over the past two years, are becoming too burdensome for the most prominent players in the fast-food market. Having long invested in developing the drive-thru format, KFC now seems interested in forcing customers to abandon this convenient way to get their orders. 

According to The Verge, the company has created a new Quick Pick-Up service as an alternative to the classic drive-thru. Customers are invited to place an order via a mobile app or website, park in a designated area outside the restaurant, and pick up their order inside. 

In this manner, KFC expects to reduce the queues that form at service points for motorists. Consumer demand is changing, with many fast-food customers increasingly opting to pick up their order from their car window, leading to delays and rising costs. According to recent data, drive-thru service speeds have deteriorated from 26 seconds to 6 minutes and 30 seconds since the beginning of 2021 alone. 

“Quick Pick-Up is changing the game by making fast food even more convenient and easier for busy customers,” commented Kevin Hochman, president of KFC America. As an incentive to attract customers to utilize the new service at most of its locations, KFC offers a complimentary serving of fries with orders worth $5 or more through Quick Pick-up.