Nando's LTV and Wallet Share

Background and Context

In March 2018, CXG implemented a centralised ordering contact centre for Nando's South Africa, designed to support over 300 restaurants through a continent-first "learn and earn" contact centre model.

The centralised ordering solution integrated e-commerce, app and contact-centre transaction channels, enabling customers to place orders through a single point of contact regardless of channel — while freeing restaurant teams to focus on in-store experience.

The Core Challenge

Nando's faced multiple challenges that required a centralised approach:

• Fragmented order handling across all restaurants
• Inconsistent customer experiences driven by in-store call answering
• Distraction of restaurant teams from walk-in customers
• The need for a commercially sustainable model that aligned Nando's and CXG
• The requirement to onboard all restaurants within a 4-month glide path, including training, technology enablement and integration
• All challenges had to be resolved without compromising brand experience, operational performance and cost efficiency

The Centralised Ordering Solution

CXG designed and operates a centralised sales and ordering contact centre that:

• Manages all inbound ordering calls for Nando's CASA restaurants
• Supports e-commerce, app and voice ordering channels
• Operates 365 days a year
• Uses a hybrid workforce model comprising students and permanent employees
• Is fully integrated with Nando's technology ecosystems

All restaurant telephone numbers were ported to a centrally managed SIP-based service, ensuring calls route directly to the contact centre — eliminating the distraction of in-restaurant call answering entirely.

Measurable Business Impact

The centralised ordering model delivered clear, evidenced outcomes:

• 98% forecast accuracy in managing unpredictable call demand with a student demand-based resource component
• 90%+ of calls answered within 20 seconds
• 98% answer ratio
• 75% order conversion rate (orders placed vs calls)
• Average basket value of R320 / $15
• 25% improvement in throughput and 30% uplift in upsell performance

Quality assurance scores averaged 92%, measured independently across customer experience, business risk, and compliance dimensions.

Financial Performance

• CASA service charge model: £50–£800 per restaurant per month
• Centralised ordering cost represents <4% of contact-centre-generated sales
• Significantly lower than in-house alternatives (~6% of sales)
• Improved order tracking, customer insight, wallet share and lifetime value understanding

Restaurants benefitted from reduced operational burden, allowing managers to focus on in-restaurant experiences rather than phone management.

Strategic Significance

This case demonstrates how centralised sales ordering, when executed with the right operating model, can:

• Improve customer experience consistency
• Increase revenue conversion and basket value
• Reduce cost to serve
• Enable scalable growth across large, distributed retail networks
• Deliver measurable social and economic impact alongside commercial success

The Nando's centralised ordering contact centre is not just an outsourcing success — it is a proof point that customer experience, operational efficiency, revenue growth, and youth employment can be pursued simultaneously and successfully.