--- title: "Jersey Mike's took to social media to reach younger diners. And it's working" url: https://burnaze.com/article/47df8165-128b-4b41-b6ca-74c665f91906 source: "Restaurant Business" original_url: https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/jersey-mikes-took-social-media-reach-younger-diners-its-working category: "Sandwich & sub" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Sandwich & sub" published: 2026-10-28T21:05:12.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T14:43:34.638Z image: https://cdn.informaconnect.com/platform/files/public/2026-10/background/JM%20Storefront%202.jpg?VersionId=m7Fu.A74um7PVvRMGTcyg3dX0CWA0zTn --- # Jersey Mike's took to social media to reach younger diners. And it's working **TL;DR:** Jersey Mike's increased its digital marketing spend to 20% and saw a 3% increase in same-store sales in the third quarter, driven by transactions. The company's digital sales also increased 100 basis points year-over-year to 43%. *originally published in Restaurant Business on 2026-10-28. [Read the original](https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/jersey-mikes-took-social-media-reach-younger-diners-its-working).* ## Key facts - Jersey Mike's increased digital marketing spend to 20% - Same-store sales were up 3% in the third quarter - Digital sales increased 100 basis points year-over-year to 43% ## Story It’s working. ## Digital marketing push That’s what Jersey Mike’s CEO Charlie Morrison said Wednesday about the sandwich chain’s push into digital marketing this year. In the past, Jersey Mike’s spent only about 1% of marketing dollars in the digital world, but that has increased to about 20% as the brand seeks out new customers and attempts to boost frequency. Jersey Mike’s typical customer is male, a bit older and white. But the brand has an opportunity to reach Gen Z, women and a more diverse mix of guests, argues Morrison. And those consumers live on social media. And now, so does Jersey Mike’s. For the Sept. 27-ended third quarter, it appears those efforts are gaining traction. Same-store sales were up 3% for the quarter, driven by transactions. That was on the lower end of projections earlier this year, when the company expected comparable sales would be up between 3% to 4% in the third quarter. Still, it was an improvement from the prior quarter’s 2.3% increase. Sales in the third quarter softened somewhat as consumers faced stiffer macroeconomic headwinds from gas and grocery prices. But Morrison said that was temporary, and the fourth quarter is back on track. During the third quarter, Jersey Mike’s saw an increase in younger guests, as well as women and Hispanics, he said. “Could it be going faster if there wasn’t the macro backdrop? Possibly. But we’re pleased with the fact that we are acquiring guests across all of those different cohorts,” said Morrison. ## Delivery and digital sales The digital marketing push has also helped grow delivery and sales through digital channels. Digital sales increased 100 basis points year-over-year to 43%, and Morrison has set the long-term goal of reaching 60% to 70% digital sales. But, as Morrison said, “It’s very early innings.” Morrison said more work needs to be done, for example, with the loyalty program, which has about 14 million members. That’s relatively small, he said, compared to other brands. Only about 7 million to 8 million of Jersey Mike’s loyalty members are active users, who eat at Jersey Mike’s about once a month. The others tend to visit as little as twice in a year, he said. But loyalty club signups this year have reached about 20%, he said, “which is good news and an indication that we’re bringing those new customers into the database.” And, as that data comes into play, Morrison said the plan is to personalize marketing to build engagement and boost frequency. But this will take time, Morrison said. ## Future growth plans “We’re building the infrastructure, we’re compiling the data. We’re getting smarter about it every day,” he said. “But I think it will be a reasonably long journey over the course of maybe the next few quarters before we start to see even the meaningful impact associated with that.” The three limited-time offers, priced at a value positioned $8.95, performed well, he said. Next year, the plan is for another two to three LTOs. The Chicken Salad sub over the summer brought in more female guests. And about half of the traffic driven by the Hot Italian sub (rolled out twice during the year) were new guests. Catering sales increased 17% during the quarter, and that’s another opportunity. Morrison would like to see units using their pre-opening morning hours to prepare catering orders. Catering accounted for 4% of sales during the quarter (up from 3% year over year) and Morrison believes it could reach 10%. Jersey Mike’s is also thinking about adding late-night hours, though it’s not at the test stage just yet. “We think the opportunity exists,” at least at some stores, he said. “We do close our doors typically around 9 p.m. across the country today, and we know there is a late-night consumer. I think what we want to do first is broaden the consumer base, invite them into Jersey Mike’s, make them active users, and then bring them along for those late-night occasions down the road.” *Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.* Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts. ## Entities - QSR (sector) - Restaurant Business (publication) - digital marketing (topic) - Jersey Mike's (company) - same store sales (topic) - Charlie Morrison (person) - delivery and digital sales (topic) --- Originally reported by Restaurant Business (https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/jersey-mikes-took-social-media-reach-younger-diners-its-working). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/47df8165-128b-4b41-b6ca-74c665f91906).