Fast food network Panera Bread is introducing the Amazon One palm reading technology to enable seamless payments and access to the loyalty program
Image: pixabay
American chain store of bakery-café fast-casual restaurants Panera Bread has deployed palm reading technology from Amazon that lets customers pay and access the chain’s loyalty programme by simply hovering their palms over a scanning device.
Amazon One technology is being tested at two selected restaurants in the St. Louis area (Town and Country and Bridgeton). Further expansion is planned for additional bakery-cafés from the waitlist of Panera Bread’s 2100 locations in the coming months.
The chain has linked its renowned loyalty program MyPanera, which has over 52 million members, with Amazon One to let customers take full advantage of their loyalty bonuses, as well as pay for their purchases with their palms.
Customers that choose to enrol in Amazon One will have their MyPanera accounts linked, addressing a major challenge for the restaurant and retail industries’ loyalty programs. Many clients prefer to skip loyalty program log-ins at checkout because they hate wasting time on the sign-up and redemption processes. Thus, they miss out on rewards and additional offers, while retailers lose their opportunities for customer engagement.
With the new technology employed, accessing the benefits of the loyalty program and making a payment at Panera Bread will be as simple as hovering one’s palm over the Amazon One device.
Enrollment in Amazon One is voluntary and may happen only upon the opt-in consent. Guests can choose to use Amazon One separately for loyalty linking or payment purposes. They can also choose both variants.
A new online pre-enrollment capability simplifies the joining process. Now, customers can create their Amazon One profile online using their Amazon account, mobile number, and credit or debit card. Then, they can complete the enrollment process at any location that offers Amazon One by scanning their palm and using the code they received during pre-enrollment.
In mid-2022, Amazon’s “One” palm scanner payment technology was launched at over 65 Whole Foods stores.
