Panera digital sales could reach $1 billion by 2017

Feb 8, 2016, 7:19am CST

Angela MuellerReporterSt. Louis Business Journal

Panera Bread Co. introduced Panera 2.0 almost two years ago, and the company now reports that 16 percent of its total sales are ordered and paid for digitally.

The company projects that more than 20 percent of its business will be digital by the end of the year. Currently, Panera's digital sales add up to $500 million in e-commerce business, and the company projects that number could reach $1 billion by 2017.

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The Panera 2.0 program features kiosk and mobile ordering designed to reducethe bottleneck of food preparation during crunch times. The digital ordering system also is integrated with the company's MyPanera loyalty program.

 “Outside of the big three pizza operators, I don’t know of another public restaurant company that has taken this sort of holistic approach, and in turn, experienced the level of digital adoption we are now seeing at Panera,” Blaine Hurst, Panera's chief transformation and growth officer, said in a statement.

Panera Bread reported a 7 percent increase in sales, to $664.7 million, for the third quarter compared to the same period last year. Net income for the fast-casual restaurant chain fell 17 percent, to $32.4 million, and earnings per share fell 13 percent, to $1.27.