Panera Bread + UserTesting

To shape and validate MyPanera 2.0, Panera’s UX team conducted five UserTesting studies throughout the design and pilot process. Research included unmoderated usability testing of the redesigned rewards page, homepage loyalty experience, and new program landing page; moderated end-to-end testing of the pilot and redemption experience; and post-launch research focused on identifying production issues and opportunities for refinement. This research directly informed the experience. Customers associated “digital warmth” with convenience, accuracy, and trust; relied on kiosks for transactions but the app for deeper loyalty engagement; and evaluated points based on whether rewards felt genuinely valuable. Testing also reinforced the importance of confirming rewards early in the ordering journey and creating clearer differentiation between loyalty tiers. The resulting experience was perceived by customers as warm, functional, thoughtful, upscale, and distinctive, bringing MyPanera in line with leading points-based loyalty programs while maintaining a distinctly Panera experience.

The MyPanera 2.0 pilot translated the redesigned loyalty experience into measurable changes in customer behavior and business performance. After 28 weeks, MyPanera members delivered a 1.9% lift in transactions and a 1.8% lift in net sales, with both results reaching statistical significance. Those gains contributed to a 1.1% lift in overall rooftop sales, with no evidence that growth among loyalty members came at the expense of non-loyalty sales. Momentum extended across customer segments. Across the pilot, transactions increased 4.04% overall and net sales increased 3.83%, with particularly strong gains among new customers, who generated +45.61% in transactions and +30.89% in net sales. Reactivated customers also showed positive growth, with +1.27% in transactions and +2.27% in net sales. Together, the results show that MyPanera 2.0 did more than modernize the loyalty experience. It helped increase engagement, drive incremental visits and sales, and create measurable value for both customers and the business.