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Case Study

JD Wetherspoon – Order & Pay App

JD Wetherspoon is one of the UK’s largest pub and hotel chains, serving millions across 800+ locations. With a focus on convenience and efficiency, especially during peak times, the company needed a robust digital solution.

 

Following the success of a COVID-era Progressive Web App, Filter was commissioned in 2024 to develop a new mobile Order & Pay app for iOS and Android. The brief: create a scalable platform that could handle peak demand, integrate new payment providers, and improve internal content management.

Mobile App Design & Build Hospitality eCommerce
A hand holds a smartphone displaying a map with various pub locations marked. The screen shows options for selecting a pub, including names, distances, and booking details. The background is a solid light blue.

Introduction

Delivering at Scale with a New JD Wetherspoon Order & Pay App

Filter developed a resilient, scalable and user-friendly Customer Order & Pay App for JD Wetherspoon , replacing the original mobile ordering solution and supporting millions of customers nationwide.

 

The project required the creation of a fully cross-platform experience that included both native mobile apps and a PWA alternative for users who prefer not to install apps.

 

The platform had to scale to meet intense demand during peak hours and seasonal events while allowing flexibility for real-time updates by pub managers and the central marketing team.

Relationship Length

Long-term digital partner

Focus

Mobile application design & development solution expertise

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Problem Problem

  • Original app lacked flexibility and scalability
  • Needed to support growing users and peak volumes
  • Integration with new payment services was complex
  • Limited real-time content control at pub level

Solution Solution

  • Built high-performance app for iOS, Android and PWA
  • Created custom Payments API with caching layer
  • Introduced App Manager CMS for venues, offers, notifications
  • Enabled faster, more precise team workflows

Result Result

  • 4.5 million downloads
  • 16 orders/second during peak Christmas 2024
  • Ongoing collaboration to evolve platform
  • Continuous UX, performance and scalability improvements

Three mobile screens showcasing a food delivery app. The first screen displays a vibrant menu with featured items. The second screen presents a Christmas menu with vegan options. The third screen focuses on the checkout process, highlighting different payment methods and total cost.

The Challenge

JD Wetherspoon operates nationally with one of the highest customer reach levels in UK hospitality. The app needed to perform reliably across 800+ venues, particularly during busy periods like weekends, holidays and major sporting events.

Customers expect fast, seamless ordering and payments, even at peak times. Meanwhile, pub managers need control over in-venue features such as promotions, guest ales and availability.

Meeting both needs required deep architectural planning, custom integrations and rigorous real-world testing. Launching a high-performing, scalable app was a major achievement for the Filter team.

Our Approach

We designed a cross-platform app for iOS, Android and as a Progressive Web App, ensuring wide accessibility. A new BNP Paribas payment integration and custom Payments API were introduced to streamline transactions and refunds.

To give JD Wetherspoon full content control, we built a bespoke CMS called App Manager, enabling teams to update promotions, add venue-specific content and send targeted notifications.

A middleware caching layer was added to boost performance during peak times. Throughout, we collaborated closely with JD Wetherspoon to ensure the app met operational needs, user expectations and future scalability.

A mobile app interface displaying a menu with options for specials and Christmas deals on one screen, and a payment section with a total of $14.60, card scanning, and payment methods on the other screen.
Two smartphones display app interfaces. The left shows a map with nearby locations for bookings, while the right confirms an order with options to download an app or return to the menu. Both images highlight user-friendly navigation for a digital service.

Results

The app has been downloaded 5 million times and successfully handled 16 orders per second during peak Christmas 2024 trading, demonstrating its resilience.

Our custom-built App Manager has enabled JD Wetherspoon to efficiently manage product updates and marketing promotions at both global and local levels, with country segmentation to accelerate delivery and strengthen local operations. Ongoing collaboration continues to enhance its design, performance and functionality.

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Why This Story Matters

This project highlights how scalable digital infrastructure, bespoke UX and hands-on content control can transform customer engagement in high-volume hospitality environments.

JD Wetherspoon now has a future-ready app that not only performs under pressure but also adapts to daily operational needs and customer habits.

The success of this ongoing collaboration reinforces Filter’s strength in mobile innovation and long-term digital partnerships that deliver measurable business value.

Three smartphones display a mobile app featuring an ordering guide, location details, and special promotions for a dining establishment. Each screen provides clear navigation options and relevant information for users.

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