KFC, a segment of Yum! Brands, Inc . YUM recently announced the adoption of mobile pay at its U.S. restaurants. It is currently available at some KFC outlets now and will be rolled out at all stores by the end of summer. The new system will be compatible with Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
KFC's new move is aimed at enhancing guest experience and improving its brand name. The company intends to put in more than 100,000 hours of retraining for all employees in order to serve the most delicious chicken and ensure quicker service. It has invested $80 million already in restaurant equipment upgrades and is also working on redesigning 70% of its U.S. restaurants by the end of 2018.
The launch of mobile pay is the latest step in the KFC U.S. initiative to modernize restaurants, including an $80 million investment in restaurant equipment upgrades and a $250 million financing program to remodel 70 percent of restaurants by the end of 2018.
Besides these, the brand started a new advertising campaign last year, changed its packaging, revamped the restaurants and introduced healthier menu items. Owing to these efforts, its U.S. business recorded the very high rate of comps growth in 2016. These efforts are expected to further drive traffic growth at the domestic KFC outlets.
Yum! Brands currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks in the restaurant industry include Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. TAST , Famous Dave's of America Inc. DAVE and Restaurant Brands International Inc. QSR . All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
