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Panera Bread on Wednesday announced it is adopting Amazon One, Amazon.com Inc.’s biometric-payment technology, at select locations in the St. Louis area.
The deployment of Amazon One, which links a customer’s payment card to his or her palm print, is expected to make it easier for Panera customers to access their rewards, as the palm-reading technology also identifies users enrolled in the Sunset Hills, Mo.-based sandwich chain’s loyalty program.
The chain, which is reportedly the first national restaurant operator to install Amazon One, has more than 52 million consumers enrolled in its loyalty program, and plans to expand Amazon One to more locations. Panera has 2,113 company and franchise operated bakery-cafés in 48 states and Ontario, Canada, operating under the Panera Bread or Saint Louis Bread Co. names.
To open an Amazon One account, a consumer inserts a credit card into an Amazon One terminal, then waves her palm over the terminal so it can be scanned and linked to the card. Amazon One uses computer-vision technology and selects the most distinct identifiers to create a palm signature. Consumers can register one or both palm prints.
Customers who link their MyPanera loyalty account to their Amazon One ID can place an order, receive personalized meal recommendations from Panera associates based on their preferences and previous orders, and reorder their favorite items. In addition, customers are automatically identified to Panera staff, enabling employees to address a customer by her name. When the order is complete, Panera customers scan their palm again to pay.
First-time Amazon One users can enroll online or sign up when placing an order at a Panera store. Panera customers can link a credit card and their MyPanera account to their Amazon One ID. Customers who have already enrolled in Amazon One at Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, or other locations where the technology has been deployed, such as airports and stadiums, can link their MyPanera account to their Amazon One ID online or in-store.
“Collaborating with Amazon Web Services to bring this service into our bakery-cafes is a natural extension of the tech-forward, guest-centric digital thinking that Panera is known for,” Panera Bread and Panera Brands chief executive Niren Chaudhary says in a prepared statement. “Our philosophy has been centered around leveraging best-in-class technology to create a better Panera experience and using that to deepen our relationship with our loyal guests. Introducing Amazon One, as a frictionless, personalized, and convenient service, is another way we’re redefining the loyalty experience.”
Amazon debuted Amazon One in September 2020 at two Amazon Go stores in Seattle. Less than a year later, Amazon added the technology to Whole Foods grocery stores in Seattle. Amazon acquired Whole Foods in August 2017 for $13.7 billion.
