Yum China, with exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, reports its loyalty program has set a milestone, mobile payments are sizzling, and delivery service is red hot.
By the end of the second quarter, total members in our loyalty programs surpassed 100 million, including 83 million members for KFC and 26 million for Pizza Hut.
Mobile payments exceeded 40% of company sales in the second quarter of 2017. Over $900 million in company sales were settled by cashless payment methods during the quarter.
Over 4,900 restaurants across China offered delivery services as of the end of the second quarter. Delivery contributed about 13% of company sales in the second quarter.
For the second quarter, restaurant margin for Yum China increased 2.7 percentage points to 15.3%. Year to date, restaurant margin for Yum China increased 3.1 percentage points to 18.7%. Margin expansion was primarily due to the impact of retail tax structure reform and also driven by same-store sales leverage, partially offset by wage inflation and commodity inflation.
Yum China had more than 7,600 restaurants and more than 420,000 employees in over 1,100 cities at the end of May 2017. The company says a new generation of younger consumers who are digitally sophisticated and brand driven, fueling growth in consumption in China. The ongoing growth of the middle class and urban population in China is expected to create the world’s largest market for restaurant brands.