The covid pandemic proved to be a death knell for fast-food operators who were unable to pivot to a delivery and drive-through model. As dining rooms closed around the country, companies like McDonald’s and Domino’s, which had prioritized digital channels and delivery for years were best prepared to deal with the changed market conditions.
It was a unique (hopefully) massive change in operating conditions that nobody could have predicted. McDonald’s, Domino’s, and Starbucks — all clear pandemic winners — weren’t building out their digital and delivery infrastructure just in case we suffered a global health crisis.
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All three of those chains, and a few others, invested in becoming omnichannel because they wanted to be able to serve customers in whatever way they wanted to be served. Chains that had not made those investments generally suffered with Restaurant Brands International’s ( QSR ) – Get Free Report Burger King seeing multiple franchisees go out of business.