From McDonalds Experience of the Future to Panera 2.0, the restaurant industry is investing heavily in technology as a means of reducing costs and improving the dining experience.

Source: www.foxbusiness.com

Takeaways

1. lift to final ticket
2. self-order more likely to order ancilliary items
3. End of meal it is all timing. You have to catch the moment.

Shen: Yeah. I will add,in addition to McDonald’s,Wendy’s announced earlier this year that they would install kiosks at about 1,000 of theirlocationsby the end of this year. They’ve cited similar things that we’ve talked about,reducing labor costs, for example. But on the Panera side,Panera 2.0, some things management has said that I think make it really interesting, in terms of the lift inticket size that you can get from thesekiosks, there is a quote from,I don’t know if it was somebody in their management, but I found this quote that basically said, “People who order at a kiosk will generally spendabout twice as longordering with that kiosk than they doif they’re speaking directly to a cashier.” What that ultimately means or leads to is moreopportunities for upselling –every time you place an order for a salad,do you want to pair that with a soup? Youorder a coffee, do you want to pair that with a donut? Then, they’re able to customize their orders,and ultimately get larger tickets. Domino’s has spoken to this as well with their apps. Peopleupsell themselves. When they’re ordering a pizza, they add things to it that they wouldn’totherwise if ordering by the phone.

Re: Chilis at the table
Shen: And a lot of restaurants that have outfitted their tables with these tablets have found that people are more likely to order the ancillary items,higher instances of customers ordering dessert,coffee, other drinks. Those are all nice margin boosters for those businesses.

Kline: There’s a window. If you’re arestaurant, there’s a period between the end of dinner and the feeling of fullness when people will buy dessert. They often regret desert by the time it shows up. That’s why most restaurants have a to-go container for desserts you shouldn’t have ordered. But if the waitress is too busy or misses that window, orI would have had another beer if she got to me 10 minutesinto my meal, but at 20 minutes into the meal I’m like, “Oh,I’m driving too soon,” or, “MaybeI don’t need to spend this money.” So there’s an amazing ability to give meevery impulse if I’m sitting there and finish my gin and tonic and want another one,I just hit the button and there it comes whereas if I had that extra five minutes ofreflection, maybe I would go, this is a bad idea.

Self-order kiosks in restaurants dominated reader interest in 2017 as several national foodservice chains announced kiosk deployments.

Source: www.kioskmarketplace.com

Writeup on most read stories on KMC this past year by Elliot Maras. 

1. best read story in 2017 was a summary of self-serve kiosk introductions at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago.

2. The second best read story addressed disability access lawsuits, an ongoing issue that continues to dog self-service technology. 

3. Redbox announced plans to add 1,500 kiosks. 

The usual “we are going to launch” PRs. 

KFC to launch 5,000 kiosks with facial recognition to predict customers’ orders in China. Interesting that they have partnered with Baidu (BIDU).

Subway and McDonalds of course.

I think here in December a lot of buzz for Taco Bell and YUM has been percolating.  One might think they have issued an RFP…

Episode 36 of Retail Gets Real: McDonald’s franchise owner Carlos Mateos Jr. on careers at McDonald’s.

Source: nrf.com

Soon after renovating his father’s first restaurant, Mateos implemented technology like a mobile app and self-service kiosks, along with more service and product offerings like a bakery and table service. With automation prompting new aspects of the business, there is a greater need for the human element. “Come spend a day with me,” Mateos says to those who think robots might replace jobs.