Shake Shack

The Client

Shake Shack serves elevated versions of American classics using only the best ingredients. It’s known for its delicious made-to-order Angus beef burgers, crispy chicken, hand-spun milkshakes, housemade lemonades, beer, wine, and more. Since the original Shack opened in 2004 in NYC’s Madison Square Park, the company has expanded to nearly 400 locations across the globe.

The Situation

When the COVID-19 pandemic altered the restaurant landscape and limited in-person dining, Shake Shack needed to move quickly to prioritize digital ordering. And in the new post-COVID world, Shake Shack needed to ensure its digital experience was just as inviting and seamless as the in-Shack experience. 

The Challenge

Shake Shack’s previous web experience — a WordPress solution managed by a third-party vendor — was outdated, making online ordering disjointed. Its main site was used primarily for marketing purposes, and users were directed to another site for online ordering. 

Along with outdated UI, the site made it difficult to update marketing content on-the-fly, and the back-end infrastructure had limited scalability. It was challenging for Shake Shack’s digital ecosystem to keep up with its ambitious growth goals. 

The Solution

Shake Shack partnered with digital innovation partner Bounteous to streamline the digital experience between app and website ordering, and break down barriers between ShakeShack.com and its separate online ordering website.

Bounteous identified opportunities to consolidate and connect disparate technologies to increase efficiency. To build the right technology infrastructure to support Shake Shack’s continuous transformation, Bounteous implemented Acquia Cloud, allowing Shake Shack to efficiently manage its content and location functionality. Additionally, Bounteous rebuilt Shake Shack’s back-end infrastructure to power various front-end technologies like ordering, payment processing, and location retrieval.

With Bounteous, Shake Shack transformed its online presence to bring new light to its digital guest experience. The teams collaborated to create an entirely new website and Android app, as well as a handful of feature enhancements on the iOS app, including curbside pickup and delivery functionalities to compensate for the loss of in-Shack dining. The new website included UI improvements to the checkout experience with a significant emphasis on the homepage menu with unique cart functionality. The virtual tray — a nod to the tray that food is placed on in-Shack — was invented in an effort to connect online ordering with the in-Shack experience.

The Acquia Digital Experience Platform (DXP) gives Shake Shack complete control over its site, providing its team members direct access to make content changes. By giving Shake Shack flexibility, the solution will continue to help the company with its future content management needs.

The Results

From start to finish, the online ordering process was updated to add curbside pickup functionality in just seven weeks. Now, pickup accounts for 30% of all app orders at eligible locations. Additionally, Shake Shack partnered with UberEats, integrating order delivery functions directly into its app so guests can enjoy classic Shack flavors delivered right to their doorstep.

Shake Shack’s digital experience transformation resulted in a more engaging online ordering experience for guests, driving a 10% increase in web users year over year, from 5.8 million to 6.3 million. Shake Shack also saw over a 300% increase in digital sales following its digital guest experience transformation.

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