Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG +0.57%) is introducing its ordering app to the Canadian market while also offering enhancements to its U.S. digital platform to make it easier for customers to order.
Particularly because of the social distancing requirements of the coronavirus pandemic, allowing remote ordering and payment for food orders is becoming a critical component of restaurant operations. Giving Canadian customers the app's functionality should boost sales in the region.
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More ways to get food
The Mexican-food giant is giving guests in Canada multiple ways to order meals from the chain, including through the Chipotle.ca website, its app, and third-party delivery providers DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Chipotle's managing director for Canada, Anat Davidzon, said in a statement, "Investing in our digital ecosystem in Canada will enhance the guest experience and position us well for future growth."
Canada is still just a small part of Chipotle's business, though, with only 23 restaurants. It has over 2,600 locations across the U.S. and 17 restaurants in Europe.
Chipotle will also be allowing U.S. customers to order meals via Pepper, its concierge bot on Facebook Messenger, beginning June 22. The bot will ask for a customer's location to find the closest Chipotle restaurant to place the order with.
Additionally, Chipotle will allow customers to use its app to make donations to organizations the restaurant partners with by rounding up their order total to the next whole dollar. The first organization users can donate to will be the Urban League.
