Though fellow Mac|Life staffers will shun me for saying this, I, for one, think bastardized Mexican food is much better than the authentic variety. Give me a vegetarian Chipotle burrito with everything on it, any day of the week, any time of day, and it will be gone before I can pull out my wallet to pay (Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Chipotle, but if any generous PR rep wants to make me a spokesman, I’m totally cool being paid in burritos).
So, when Chipotle released an app to order on the go, I downloaded it immediately. This is a brilliant marketing move, because users like me will see the app on the first page of applications, get hungry, and walk away eight bucks poorer. You also can't second guess yourself once you're there, because the app requires you to pay with your credit card before the order goes through. It’s a great value proposition for the burrito fan as well, because you can circumvent lines, get directions to the nearest Chipotle, and even note special instructions, like "extra beans, por favor."
More importantly, though, this marks a new genre of apps in the App Store -- essentially using the iPhone as a payment mechanism for everyday goods and services. We haven’t gotten to the point where we can swipe our phones at the Safeway checkout lines, and charge it to AT&T, but we promise, we’re getting there.
Download the free Chipotle app here.
