You’ll benefit from Restaurant Brands’ next step in digital

Article Excerpt

Loyalty programs help fast-food operators grow and protect their customer base by encouraging more frequent visits. Customer data from those programs can also help personalize promotions for members and push them to visit restaurants during less-busy hours. RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $59.45 is a buy. The company (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 478.0 million; Market cap: $28.1 billion; Dividend yield: 3.6%) is now testing a loyalty program in five U.S. markets as part of a broader effort to expand its digital offerings for customers. The introduction of Burger King’s “Royal Perks” test follows an announcement from arch-rival McDonald’s that it will ramp up its own loyalty program. Burger King customers in Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, New Jersey and Long Island will be able to earn rewards points for every dollar that they spend. Members can also get additioal points for orders from Burger King’s website or app. Burger King’s loyalty program will also hand out free daily perks to members,…