Sweetgreen will extend loyalty program to its dining rooms

Dive Brief:

Sweetgreen customers will soon be able to earn and redeem loyalty rewards when they order on-premise, Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman said on the chain’s earnings call last week.
Currently, customers can only earn rewards through Sweetgreen’s two-tiered rewards platform if they place orders on its website or mobile app.
Neman said the value of offering in-store rewards will be “super accretive” because most of the chain’s customers are first acquired through its brick-and-mortar restaurants, which make up the company’s “biggest and fastest-growing channel.”

Dive Insight:

Since launching in April, Sweetgreen’s two-tiered Sweetpass rewards platform “is steadily growing in membership and driving incrementality,” Neman said, though he did not disclose information about total membership count or ordering frequency among these consumers.

Neman did share, however, that Sweetpass is attracting infrequent customers and boosting their spending.

“If we think about Sweetpass as a channel to acquire and hold new customers as well as drive frequency of our lower frequency guests that in-store unlock is really important,” Neman said.

Sweetgreen will allow diners to begin earning and redeeming points in restaurants in the next few months, he said. When that shift occurs, the company predicts that it will have a major impact on restaurant-level earnings. Average unit volumes for Q2 2023 were $2.9 million, Sweetgreen CFO Mitch Reback said on the call. For Q2, Sweetpass offset same-store sales growth by 3% in mix, Reback said on the call.

Sweetgreen’s two-tiered model includes a “free” level that allows diners to earn rewards and access new menu offerings and merchandise by opting into personalized challenges. The second tier, the Sweetpass+ subscription, costs $10 monthly and gives participants a $3 daily discount on orders. Sweetgreen+ also offers members delivery perks, “priority Sweetgreen support,” and access to exclusive Sweetgreen experiences.

Subscription tiers are becoming popular rewards strategies in the restaurant space. In September, P.F. Chang’s launched a subscription level within its loyalty platform, charging members $6.99 a month for perks including free delivery. In February 2022, Taco Bell shared that its Taco Lover’s Pass subscription increased its rewards members by 20%.