• by Todd Wasserman , Staff Writer, August 16, 2022

Using apps to order fast food is fast becoming the norm. QSR magazine reports that July 2022 was the biggest month on record for first-time downloads of the top 36 apps.

QSR reports that the top 10 such apps were downloaded 12.1 million times, 16.3% more than the previous month. Downloads of the top 36 apps are up 42.2%, the magazine reports.

The top five fast-food apps, according to Apptopia, were McDonald’s, with 4.3 million downloads; Starbucks, with 1.4 million; Domino’s, with 973,000; Sonic, with 898,000; and Chick-Fil-A, with 883,000.

McDonald’s had its second-biggest month for app downloads in July thanks to experiences only available through the app, including National Fry Day and Camp McDonald’s, a month-long virtual experience of food deals, menu hacks and music performances via Omar Apollo, BIBI and Kid Cudi, which were only available on the app.

Starbucks in July sold its cold drinks 50% off every Tuesday for Rewards members, an offer that is credited with boosting Starbucks’ daily active users by 19%, year-over-year.

Domino’s offers deals for ordering via  Google Home, Alexa, Slack and Facebook Messenger.

Sonic users can use the app to get Happy Hour deals—discounted burgers and slushies—all day, rather than during its “Happy Hour” of 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Finally, only Chick-fil-A at this point offers no deals via its app.

For most fast feeders, bolstering their traffic via app promotions seems to be the norm and is teaching customers to download their app and reap the benefits.