Yum Brands Reports Digital Sales of $17 bn in 2020, Up by 45% YoY

Despite the blow of pandemic restrictions in 2020, Yum Brands’ earnings for the year topped analysts’ estimates.

The company’s Q4 2020 revenue grew by 3% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.74 billion, higher than the expected $1.72 billion. For the full year, digital sales rose by 45% to $17 billion, according to the research data analyzed and published by Stock Apps,

Based on an NPD Group report, restaurant digital orders in the US shot up by 145% YoY in December 2020. By the end of the year, carry-out accounted for 46% of off-premises orders and drive-thrus got 44%.

US Digital Restaurant Market Sales Rose by 124% in 2020 to $45 Billion

Yum Brands launched a series of initiatives to speed up its digitalization process in 2020. For KFC, a new eCommerce ecosystem streamlined off-premises order handling. As a result, transaction times at the window reduced by 16 seconds in Q4 2020 compared to Q4 2019.

The Habit added curbside pickup, which accounted for 10% of all sales and 50% of mobile sales. Through its Go Mobile ecosystem, Taco Bell saw drive-thru transaction times drop below four minutes. Thanks to these investments, Pizza Hut saw an 18% growth in same-store sales from off-premise channels. Taco Bell reported a 12% digital sales mix while The Habit had a 40% sales mix from its digital platform.

McDonald's also benefitted from a shift to digital, generating $10 billion from online sales across its top six markets in 2020. They accounted for 20% of the company’s total annual sales. Chipotle also posted a 177.2% YoY increase in digital sales during Q4 2020, reaching $781.4 million.

According to eMarketer, digital restaurant market sales in the US rose by 123.8% in 2020 to $44.94 billion. In 2021, it is projected to increase by 22.3% to $54.97 billion and in 2022, by16.3% to $63.93 billion.