When Subway first sold its “Footlong Pass” last August, giving customers 50% off Footlong subs throughout September for $15, the company offered just 10,000 of the passes and they sold out in just six hours.
So it’s not surprising that the fast-food sandwich chain would try it again, and this time with a lot more availability. Subway on Tuesday will make available 250,000 Footlong Pass subscriptions. The subscriptions, available for the company’s loyalty members, will be available starting at 8 a.m. ET on SubwayFootlongPass.com.
The passes enable customers to get 50% off their footlong subs every day through the month of April. The offer could prove valuable to frequent visitors of the chain. Someone who gets a 12-inch Steak & Cheese sub every day during the month, for instance, would save $165.
“The first 10,000 passes sold out in a matter of hours,” Barb Milette, senior director of loyalty and gift cards at Subway, said in a statement. “While we have 250,000 available this time around, we expect them to go very quickly.”
Fast-food chains have been pushing their loyalty programs in recent years, eager for the one-to-one marketing that comes with them, not to mention that such customers come in more often and spend more when they do. As such, chains have been looking for ways to build membership and provide exclusives in the process.
At the same time, such passes or subscription offers like the Footlong Pass have proven popular when offered. Various chains have tried selling month-long access to an unlimited number of a certain menu item, such as Olive Garden and Taco Bell.
Yet many quick-service chains, in their bid to get loyalty customers to frequent restaurants, have loaded their mobile apps with discounts. Subway’s app has regularly offered discounts off Footlong subs in recent weeks, for instance. And some franchisees don’t accept them.
Still, the Footlong Pass proved popular enough among customers last year that the chain is offering it again. Subway launched its loyalty program in 2018 in the U.S. and Canada and has made building digital sales through the program a priority.
CEO John Chidsey said in an interview last month that digital and loyalty sales are key in driving average unit volumes for the chain. The company has spent the past 18 months revamping its loyalty program, he said. “We have a long way to go to keep driving digital,” Chidsey said.
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