Why Self Order Kiosks are the Fastest Growing Opportunity for Franchises

What do Chili’s, McDonald’s, and Taco Bell, all have in common? They’re all increasing order values at a vast scale with self-order kiosks.

Restaurant self-order kiosks have quickly become standard fixtures in fast-food and fast-casual establishments. They can reduce lines, increase order sizes, and free up front-of-house staff. These interactive, order-and-pay kiosks have revolutionized the way customers place their orders. Let’s look at six reasons why self-order kiosks are the fastest-growing opportunity in the QSR and hospitality sectors.

1. Enhanced Customer Experience

Restaurant self-order kiosks offer an intuitive and user-friendly touchscreen interface that empowers customers to personalize their orders. With attractive visuals, enticing descriptions, and personalization options, these kiosks facilitate a seamless ordering process. Customers can explore the menu at their own pace, modify their orders, and view nutritional information or allergen warnings.

Further, a hybrid approach to ordering lets customers choose the way they want to order: via an associate or via the kiosk. This means shorter lines for everyone and more customers’ preferences being met.

2. Increased Efficiency and Order Accuracy

Traditional ordering methods often result in miscommunication between customers and staff, leading to order errors and delays. Self-order kiosks eliminate these issues by allowing customers to input their orders directly into the system. This reduces the burden on staff members, freeing them to focus on other essential tasks such as food preparation and customer service.

On average, one kiosk can take on the orders of 1.5 staff members, freeing up those staff for other tasks. The accuracy of orders is improved, which could lead to higher customer satisfaction and repeat business.

3. Upselling and Cross-Selling Opportunities

Restaurant self-order kiosks provide an ideal platform for upselling and cross-selling. By leveraging attractive visuals, suggestive selling techniques, and upsell prompts, franchises can effortlessly encourage customers to add extras, upgrade their meals, or try new menu items. The interactive nature of kiosks makes showcasing special promotions, limited-time offers, and personalized recommendations easier. These tactics help boost average order value and drive additional revenue.

Top QSRs are seeing increased order sizes when customers order themselves vs with an associate:

• Taco Bell found that in-app orders are 20% pricier
• Chili’s saw a similar increase in dessert orders with self-service kiosks
• Cinemark’s self-service kiosks resulted in 32 straight quarters of concession sales increases
• McDonald’s self-service kiosks provided up to 30% higher order value

4. Streamlined Operations and Cost Savings

Implementing self-order kiosks streamlines the entire order-taking process. It minimizes the need for manual input and eliminates the time-consuming back-and-forth communication between customers and staff.

Moreover, franchises can optimize their workforce and allocate resources more efficiently by reallocating employees from order-taking to more critical roles, such as food preparation or customer service. This results in cost savings and increased productivity.

5. Valuable Data Insights

Self-order kiosks generate valuable data insights that can be leveraged to improve franchise business operations and make data-driven decisions. By analyzing ordering patterns, popular menu items, and customer preferences, businesses can fine-tune their menu offerings, develop targeted marketing strategies, and optimize their inventory management.

These data-driven insights enable franchisees to stay ahead of the competition and adapt to evolving customer demands effectively. Further, this data can also be used to provide personalized offers and recommendations, increasing order sizes and bolstering loyalty.

6. Adaptability and Customization

Restaurant self-order kiosks offer great flexibility in terms of customization and integration. They can be tailored to match the branding and aesthetics of the business, providing a cohesive and immersive customer experience. Kiosks can also be integrated with loyalty programs, mobile apps, and payment systems, further enhancing customer convenience and loyalty.

With a range of mounting options, self-order kiosks can be placed in nearly any environment. Further, modular systems like Aila’s Interactive Kiosk are compatible with leading payment terminals and printers, creating a modular and adaptable order system that can be used for years to come.

Learn more about how the self-order kiosks are streamlining operations and improving the customer experience in QSR. Get the white paper: