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Taco Bell is testing a new drive-thru format with four lanes and vertical drops for food in Minnesota. The concept is dubbed Taco Bell Defy and focuses on mobile ordering and making fast food, well, even faster.
Taco Bell's goal is to get drive-thru ordering times down to 2 minutes or less — a bold goal for a fast food chain that is already the fastest in the business (of the 10 largest chains).
Faster food
Indeed, data from a QSR study reveals that last year the average Taco Bell drive-thru time from entry to exit was a speedy 268 seconds. That was the fastest of any of the largest chains, and less than half of the time that the typical Chick-fil-A drive-thru took.
The only problem is that the speed seems to have compromised on accuracy as the study also showed that Chick-fil-A orders were correct an impressive 100% of the time, while Taco Bell drive-thru orders were only correct 87% of the time — meaning that roughly one-in-seven orders had some kind of problem or mistake.
You can't sit with us
Although it's only one store, this Taco Bell concept is a response to changing habits from the pandemic. Drive-thru sales skyrocketed during COVID, and they've stayed high in some areas — which is why the Taco Bell Defy doesn't have any seating whatsoever inside. One franchisee, Border Foods, has seen drive-thru orders account for 90%+ of its sales at its 200+ locations, up from around 65% pre-COVID.
See a video of Taco Bell Defy in action.
Too much stuff
America's biggest retailers have a new problem to go along with supply chain inflation and a tight labor market — too much stuff.
Target announced yesterday that it was basically holding a lot of stuff that no-one wanted anymore, meaning the inventory on its balance sheet had grown substantially on this time last year (up 43%). Large appliances, furniture and comfy clothing are all out as consumers reportedly switch up their purchases towards travel, cosmetics and clothes-that-aren't-sweatpants.
If you happen to be a shareholder in a major retailer with an inventory problem, this is bad news. The only real way to shift huge volumes of merchandise that aren't in demand is to discount it — which is why Target's announcement dragged stocks lower yesterday. Target's shares have now lost 33% of their value year-to-date. Walmart has shed 15%.
The upside is if you're in the market for home goods like patio furniture, appliances or large electronics there's a decent chance your local Target will have a sale in the near future, as the retailer looks to shift some of that older inventory — a process that will eat into its margins for the coming quarter.
Online interest for what has been dubbed "America's fastest growing sport" is hitting a new high as we get into the summer swing.
Wikipedia page hits, and Google searches, for "Pickleball" have been steadily climbing over the last few years, as the game continues to grow in popularity, having been originally invented back in 1965 by three dads who were bored on vacation.
Played on what looks like a mini tennis court — and with rules and gameplay that borrow from a multitude of different racquet sports — Pickleball was played by around 4.8 million players in the US last year according to the SFIA. 1.4 million of those played it 8 times or more, suggesting a pretty casual player base.
It has proven particularly popular with the older generation (half of the core players are over 55), perhaps because it's slightly more accessible than regular tennis.
1) Rising house prices and rising mortgage costs have meant a record 29% plunge in the Home Affordability Index (chart).
2)BuzzFeed's share price dropped more than 40% on Monday after a lock-up expired that gave early investors and some execs the chance to sell their shares.
3) Boris Johnson survived a vote of no confidence from his party this week, but his standing among the British public is near an all-time low according to the latest polling data.
4) The biggest experiment into the potential of a 4-day workweek is getting underway in the UK, where 3,300 workers at 70 companies will work 4 days a week... while getting their usual salaries.
5) Piestro is an automated robotic pizza shop that delivers high-quality artisanal pizzas in a unit roughly the size of 2 vending machines, right in front of your eyes. Invest in Piestro today.**
6) When do you become an adult? The consensus depends on where you are, per this interesting data for different European countries.
7) Uber is back with the Uber Lost & Found Index, chronicling the weirdest things left behind in an Uber, the most forgetful cities and the most common items that are left behind.
**This is sponsored content.
