This article outlines:
Olo’s major milestones in 2024
Our approach to tackling the restaurant industry’s biggest challenges
What we’re most excited about in 2025 and beyond
Dear Friends of Olo,
Midway through Olo's 20th year, I’m in awe of the journey we’ve been on together and our impact on the restaurant industry. We truly embody our mission—Hospitality at Scale™—in ways we could only dream of two decades ago.
2024 has been a year of meaningful milestones. We now support 85,000 restaurants across 700 brands, and together with our 400 partners, we serve 85 million guests each year and process over 2 million transactions daily. To put this into perspective, if Olo were a restaurant brand, we'd rank #3 in overall sales—behind just McDonald's and Starbucks—and #1 in digital sales. These aren't just numbers, they're a testament to the transformative power of technology.
When we started in 2005, our first solution was simple yet revolutionary: solving the problem of long coffee lines with text message ordering. Today, we're facing a different challenge as an industry. This past year, restaurants are grappling with rising costs, declining traffic, and the temptation of endless discounting. We believe there's a better way—one that doesn't compromise a brand's value or profitability.
Our approach is rooted in a deep understanding of guest data and how it unlocks hospitality. We've discovered 70% of guests never return, and of the 20% that drive 60% of transactions, about half aren't even in a loyalty program. This year, we introduced Olo Pay Card-Present, expanding our capabilities into on-premise payment processing through new POS integrations, allowing us to see every transaction with unprecedented data depth. This means restaurants can connect every guest transaction to a unified guest profile, personalizing experiences in ways that drive frequency, increase average check sizes, and create meaningful connections.
With that, our Guest Data Flywheel has become more powerful than ever. Every transaction leaves a data fingerprint, enabling restaurants to uncover root causes, understand guest behavior, and create personalized experiences. We're not just processing orders—we're helping restaurants make every guest feel like a regular, whether it's their first visit or their hundredth.
As we look ahead, we're excited about the possibilities. AI, data-driven intelligence, and our commitment to hospitality will open up growth for all of us. We're proud to be at the forefront of this transformation, bridging technology and the timeless art of hospitality—an art our restaurant community does better than anyone else.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Whether you’re one of the 80+ new restaurant brands that joined us this year or a longtime customer or partner, we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve you. Your trust inspires us to push the boundaries of what's possible in our industry.
In the spirit of the season and as a token of our gratitude, Olo has made a donation to No Kid Hungry on behalf of this wonderful Olo community, to support the organization’s efforts to end childhood hunger in America.
Here's to making every meal, every interaction, and every moment more personal and meaningful. This world needs more hospitality, and Team Olo is proud to serve as a force multiplier.
My best,
Noah Glass
Founder & CEO, Olo
Hospitality at Scale™
