One in five Americans visit a Panera bakery-cafe every quarter—that’s over 66 million Americans dining in or taking away at more than 2,100 Panera locations across the country. The fast-casual restaurant chain known for its soups, sandwiches, salads, and freshly baked pastries has gained an immense following for its MyPanera loyalty program, which now boasts more than 52 million members, each with access to personalized rewards.
I’m thrilled to announce that Panera is taking MyPanera to a whole new level with Amazon One’s newly launched loyalty linking capability. Amazon One, our palm recognition service that lets customers enter, identify, and pay, will for the first time provide the additional capability of linking MyPanera loyalty memberships to customers’ Amazon One profiles. Panera is the first restaurant chain to offer Amazon One’s new loyalty linking capability, allowing guests to take full advantage of their MyPanera loyalty program, as well as pay for their purchases with just their palm.
Guests who choose to enroll in Amazon One and link their MyPanera account simply hover their palm over the Amazon One device, and a Panera associate will be able to welcome them by name and provide a highly personalized experience. Enrollment in Amazon One is voluntary and includes opt-in consent. Guests can choose to use Amazon One for loyalty linking, payment, or both.
Amazon One with the loyalty linking feature is launching at two Panera bakery-cafes in the St. Louis area (Town and Country and Bridgeton locations), and will become available at additional Panera locations in the coming months.
Why is this significant?
The MyPanera integration with Amazon One addresses a major pain point for the restaurant and retail industries: customers sometimes choose to skip loyalty programs because they prefer to get in and out with their purchase, rather than deal with the sign-up and redemption processes. For new guests who choose to sign up for MyPanera using Amazon One, enrollment is easy.
Similarly, redeeming rewards often requires customers to open a sub-menu in a mobile app, find email vouchers, or remember to bring physical coupons–all of which are time-consuming and inconvenient. Now, Panera guests have the option of hovering their palm over an Amazon One device to load their MyPanera account alongside personalized rewards that Panera provides based on their preferences.
“We are excited to deploy Amazon One in our restaurants because we want to deliver a frictionless and personalized loyalty experience for our guests,” said Niren Chaudhary, CEO of Panera Bread and Panera Brands. “Amazon One is a great option for guests who want a quick and convenient way to sign up for our MyPanera loyalty program, redeem their rewards, and pay for their order with a simple hover of their palm over the Amazon One Device—all while enjoying a highly personalized in-store experience.”
New to Amazon One: Online Pre-enrollment
In addition to loyalty linking, I’m also excited to announce Amazon One’s new online pre-enrollment capability. This new feature further simplifies Amazon One enrollment by allowing consumers to start the process online before going to a store. With an Amazon account, mobile number, and a credit or debit card, consumers can create their Amazon One profile online. 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.
How does Amazon One enrollment work at Panera?
Amazon One is simple and secure. Guests who have previously enrolled in Amazon One simply need to link their MyPanera account to their Amazon One ID online or in person at the restaurant. First-time Amazon One users can pre-enroll online and add their credit or debit card and mobile number. They can complete the enrollment process at the participating Panera bakery-cafe by scanning their palm and the QR code they receive during the pre-enrollment process. Alternatively, guests can choose to enroll in-person at participating Panera bakery-cafes.
Once enrolled, a Panera guest scans their palm at the Amazon One device to pull up their MyPanera account information for the Panera associate, who will then be able to greet the guest by name, remind them of available rewards, and take their order. After the order is placed, the guest can scan their palm a second time to process payment. With just their palm, Panera guests can enjoy a customized experience while also taking full advantage of their MyPanera rewards and benefits.
We’re excited to see how MyPanera members enjoy the experience as Amazon One rolls out to additional Panera bakery-cafes in the coming months. With the introduction of loyalty linking and online pre-enrollment capabilities, consumers, retailers, fast casual restaurants, and other businesses can soon appreciate the versatility and convenience of Amazon One. Whether it’s to grab a beer at a sports stadium, make a last-minute purchase at an airport store before boarding a flight, or buy groceries at Whole Foods Market stores, consumers can simply hover their palm.
The possibilities are endless, and we’re just getting started.
- How does Amazon One work?Amazon One uses multiple characteristics of a palm to identify each person who uses the service. When you hold your palm over the Amazon One device, the technology evaluates multiple aspects of your palm to identify that it’s you. Cameras in the hardware capture surface-area details like lines and ridges, as well as subcutaneous features such as vein patterns. No two palms are alike, so we analyze multiple attributes and select the most distinct identifiers to create your unique palm signature.
- What are the benefits of palm recognition?We selected palm recognition for a few important reasons. First, palm recognition is considered more private than some biometric alternatives because you can’t determine a person’s identity by looking at an image of their palm. It also requires an intentional gesture—hovering your palm over an Amazon One device—to use. And it’s contactless, which we think customers will appreciate. Ultimately, using a palm as a biometric identifier puts customers in control of when and where they use the service.
- How do I update my Amazon One settings and payment information, or delete credentials?Customers can access and manage details related to their Amazon One profile, including updating their credit card, through the customer portal on one.amazon.com or at any Amazon One device.
- Where is Amazon One currently available?In addition to Panera, Amazon One is available as an entry and payment option at select Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market stores, as well as travel retailers at airports in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, and Los Angeles, sports stadiums including T-Mobile Park, Climate Pledge Arena, and Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, and entertainment venues such as Hollywood Casino at Greektown in Detroit, and many more locations nationwide. You can find our latest list of locations at one.amazon.com.
- Which Panera locations offer Amazon One today?Amazon One is available at two Panera locations in the St. Louis metropolitan area, including in Town and Country (14123 Clayton Road, Town and Country, MO 63017) and Bridgeton (12226 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, MO 63044). Amazon One will be available at additional Panera locations in the coming months.
- How do you protect customer data?Protecting customer data and safeguarding privacy are foundational design principles of Amazon One. For example, Amazon One is protected by multiple security controls, and palm images are never stored on the device. Rather, the images are encrypted and sent to a highly secure, custom-built area in the cloud where we create a unique palm signature. We do not share your palm images with anyone.
To learn more about Amazon One, visit one.amazon.com.
