Panera Bread, a self-serve kiosk pioneer, is rolling out Amazon One, a palm identify and payments technology, at select bakery-cafes in the brand’s hometown of St. Louis.
The company plans to expand the deployment in the coming months, making Panera the first national restaurant to use Amazon One for loyalty and payments, according to a press release.
Amazon One tech lets customers check out with just the palm of their hand.
Panera is also debuting an online pre-enrollment feature that will allow its 52 million-plus customers to begin Amazon One enrollment anywhere they may be, according to the release.
Customers can then complete the enrollment process at any location that offers Amazon One by scanning their palm and using the code they received during pre-enrollment.
Guests who link their MyPanera account to Amazon One will also be able to get tailored meal recommendations based on preferences and previous orders as well as learn about available rewards.
“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,” Niren Chaudhary, CEO of Panera Bread and Panera Brands, said in the release. “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.”
As of Feb. 28, 2023, there were 2,113 bakery-cafes, company and franchise, in 48 states and in Ontario, Canada, operating under the Panera Bread or Saint Louis Bread Co. names.
