Drive Through is being applied to many areas.

A store that allows you to shop while you’re in your car is called ‘Drive Through.’ Usually we see them in fast food or coffee shops. Actually, it was a bank that first introduced Drive Through. In 1930s, St. Louis, U.S., was the first town that introduced Drive Through in the Grand National Bank. It only allowed depositing money due to safety reasons, etc., but many people used the service at the time because it was simply interesting.

The success case of Drive Through, McDonalds. Source: McDonalds

Since then Drive Through spread widely through fast food chains. McDonalds is the representative case, as we are all aware of. McDonalds first implemented Drive Through in 1975; with the first fast food Drive Through opening in 1947, it was quite late to adapt the concept. But with its global power, the service expanded to stores around the world, establishing itself as the brand that popped into people’s minds when we say ‘Drive Through’.

Another brand that has aggressively implemented Drive Through is Starbucks. Starbucks especially enhanced its convenience through the ‘Siren Order’ service. Siren Order is an app service which allows you to select a store and make the payment. If you choose a Drive Through store and make an order beforehand, you can pick it up right away, which is very convenience.

From administration work to finance! Drive Through plays a big role in various areas.

Gwangju metropolitan city is operating the Drive Through civil service center.

Recently Drive Through is being implemented not just by fast food chains and cafes but also in various areas. Netherlands implemented voting via Drive Through for their general election held in March, 2017. The voting rate compared to the previous general election rose by 8% because it was so convenient for people to not get off their cars, vote and take off right away.

In Korea, there is an increase in adapting Drive Through by government offices. Gwangju metropolitan city installed and operates the Drive Through civil service center at the Cheomdan2dong resident center since December 2015. After identifying oneself while still in the car, one can now be issued 21 types of civil service documents such as copies of resident registration, family relation certificate, seal certificate, etc. The usage rate is quite high; it amounts to 16% of all civil service issuances as of 2017. The Jeju city hall has also been operating the Drive Through civil service center since June 2019, and Busan city plans to implement Drive Through in newly established administration welfare centers including that in Myeongji-dong, Gangseo-gu.

There’s also a case where Drive Through was implemented in the health and medical field. In 2006, Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S., installed a temporary health center and gave flu vaccine shots via Drive Through. After the items on a checklist were reviewed, one held his/her arm out through the car and got the shot. A health center in Georgia, U.S., opened the Drive Through ‘vaccine clinic’ in 2015 to promote influenza vaccine shots. This was also received well thanks to the speedy execution of shots.

GS25 Drive Through store in Changwon, Gyeongnam (Source: GS25)

Convenient stores are also highly interested in Drive Through. In August 2012, CU opened a Drive Through store at a gas station in Heukseok-dong, Seoul, and in April 2017, GS25 opened one in Changwon, Gyeongnam. You can only get simple items at Drive Through convenient stores like water, coffee, drinks, cigarettes, etc., but they will be expanded in the future. Also, GS25 has been pursuing convenient store business in Vietnam since last year. As the stores are Drive Through stores which are frequented by motorcycles, the main transportation means of Vietnam, it’s being received quite well locally.

Nowadays even banks are preparing to implement Drive Through to expand their contact point with consumers. Woori Bank is about to launch a Drive Through currency exchange service where you can order online and receive the exchanged currency in your car. You reserve your currency exchange on your app; your car number is recognized at the pick-up booth; the QR code is checked by your phone; and you can receive the foreign currency after identifying yourself through fingerprint authentication, etc. Woori Bank also plans to provide a Drive Through foreign currency receiving service to those visiting the Shinsegye Department Store in Myeong-dong.

Drive Through brings in car recognition payment.

Starbucks’ My DT Pass service where you can easily make payment through car recognition (Source: Starbucks).

Recently Drive Throughs are bringing in even more convenient smart payment system. It’s done by automatically recognizing the car number and connecting it to the registered payment method. The representative case of this technology would be Starbucks’ ‘My DT Pass’ service. My DT Pass is a service that makes automatic payment through pre-registered automobile information which connects to your Starbucks prepaid card. The other big pillar in the Drive Through industry, McDonalds, is also highly interested in improving their payment system. McDonalds has acquired an AI venture corporation last March at 300 million dollars (about 350 billion won) and is preparing a car recognition payment service.

Hyundai Motors Group is also expected to implement an automobile easy payment system for the first time in Korea with their new cars. It will be a payment system that makes use of nearby wireless communication; you may use this by registering a payment system like credit card or debit card onto the e-commerce terminal installed in the car. There have been many difficulties in mass producing automobile easy payment systems due to security reasons, such as forged license plates, etc. Hyundai Motors Group fortified the level of security by coding the unique number given to each automobile with a two-way wireless communication system. It will be used in a way that once you enter the affiliated store, the payment system is automatically activated, and total price will be calculated at the exit depending on the services provided. It won’t be too far away in the future when we can use not only paid roads, parking lots, gas stations, and garages but also large Drive Through affiliated stores and make easy payments in our cars.

Written by. Gyeong-min Hyun (Connecting Lab)