Overview & key takeaways
We were asked by KFC, China’s biggest restaurant brand, to help turn around declining store traffic and business performance. The goal was to focus on positioning the brand favorably with young Chinese consumers through a virtual experience.
Services
Experience & Commerce
Industry
Retail & Consumer Goods
Market
China
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19M
Visitors in five weeks
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4.3B
Interactions in five weeks
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4M
Burgers sold in one week
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-
19M
Visitors in five weeks
-
4.3B
Interactions in five weeks
-
4M
Burgers sold in one week
-
Play
The challenge
KFC is the largest, most successful restaurant brand in China, with over 9,000 restaurants in 1,800 cities. Like every fast-food business, the brand relies on casual footfall. Young consumers hanging out with friends are key audiences who must be constantly recruited.
But by 2022 store traffic was suffering and business performance had declined by 16%. Innovation had helped the brand win with young Chinese consumers. But technologies (and generations) never stand still.
Gen Z has evolved: hanging out with friends is increasingly a virtual experience. 50% agree “I spend more time hanging out with friends in gaming environments than in the real world.”
Many spend more time styling their avatars than themselves. How could KFC thrive in a world where a key consumption occasion was disappearing?
The approach
We created a virtual store experience hosted on China’s most popular platform for young people, QQ.
Made with Unreal Engine 4, the KFC Re:Store combines traditional Chinese craft, cutting edge technology, and deep platform understanding.
BRING THE SWAG
We designed avatar costumes and merchandise, tailormade furniture, a virtual pet named Fengwan, and even our own currency, Chicken Coins — a first for the platform. Users can run virtual businesses and earn Chicken Coins to pay for virtual furniture and other assets.
MAKE IT SOCIAL
Users can dance, play, and hang out with friends and a virtual Colonel Sanders (the first non-player character on the platform). Within five weeks, 850M chats with Colonel Sanders took place.
KEEP IT SEAMLESS
180M virtual KFC food items have sold in five weeks, but what matters most is turning the virtual store into a real-world revenue driver. In a world first for the platform, users can order in the metaverse and have their order delivered in the real world.
The outcome
The revolutionary borderless-commerce approach enjoyed a successful beta. Within just five weeks, KFC Re:Store saw 19M visitors making 4.3B interactions. Within one week, 4M burgers were sold. KFC Re:Store officially launched on the QQ platform in July. Triumphantly, we picked up a Bronze Lion, Asia’s only Lion, in Cannes Creative Commerce.
