Self-service in the fast-food sector

The foodservice industry is in the midst of a transition to a model in which new technologies play an ever-increasing role in transactions. This transition is made possible by the standardization of numerous digital products and services: cash register software, order terminals, QR codes, online ordering and delivery, etc.

Fast food is a special segment of the restaurant market. Its main value proposition is speed. Customers eat fast-prepared meals at lower average prices than in traditional restaurants. According to Statista 's report on fast food in France, the French are attracted to fast food mainly for the speed of service (72%), conviviality (29%), and quality of dishes (27%).

All this makes fast food a fertile ground for digitalization and the development of Self-Service Technologies (SSTs): technologies that enable individuals to perform a task or transaction without any interaction with service staff. (Baba, et al. 2020)

In this article, we'll look at the advantages of adopting self-service technologies in the specific case of fast-food restaurants.

Self-service: more efficient flow management

When people go to a fast-food restaurant, they expect to be served quickly. That's what makes fast food so successful. This popularity has a downside: the volume of customers is often higher than average. Staff are regularly overwhelmed by the high flow, making it difficult to avoid congestion, especially during rush periods.

Self-service technologies, such as the ordering kiosks that were once the preserve of the big fast-food chains, have seen their use gradually standardized across this market segment and beyond. Restaurateurs have been quick to realize the advantages of adopting such solutions: customers no longer have to wait to order, and are empowered. From the restaurateur's point of view, staff can be allocated in a more optimal way: more staff can be allocated to taking orders, more staff can be allocated to reinforcing the kitchen staff, for example.

Two options stand out:

• The first option is to dematerialize traffic outside the restaurant: online ordering, ordering via third-party applications (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, etc.), or Click and Collect, which has the added advantage of broadening the chain's potential customer base.
• The second option is to optimize in-store traffic using tools such as QR codes or order kiosks. Order kiosks considerably increase the volume of orders processed, without causing long queues. While allowing customers to take their time, the highly fluid and intuitive user interface means that orders can be taken 40% faster than at the counter. From order-taking to payment, everything is carried out directly on the order terminals, enabling more orders to be processed at the same time.  

The other important element is the resolution of a large proportion of problems relating to human error and possible service failures: incorrect transcription of orders, language barriers, communication errors between cashier and kitchen staff. All this is made possible by a large number of integrated functions: multilingualism, virtually zero order errors, direct transmission of orders to cashier and kitchen, etc.

Personalized fast-food experience

Every restaurateur wants to offer customers something unique. To achieve this, it's imperative to emphasize the experiential dimension of your establishment: allowing customers to enjoy a unique, easy, fluid experience, which in turn will leave them with a lasting positive image of the brand.

A personalized, immersive experience makes restaurant service more responsive to customers' different expectations. The more customers are immersed in the world of your establishment, the greater their loyalty will be.

Self-service technologies give customers access to a higher level of personalization of their experience: when taking orders, paying, composing dishes, the experience at the table, etc. For example, allowing customers to pay as they wish: at a kiosk or counter, by credit card, meal ticket, cash, or via Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.

What's special about ordering terminals, QR codes and online ordering via applications is that these digital solutions make it possible to browse the entire restaurant menu in a very short space of time, personalize recipes, easily transform dishes into formulas, or propose options as the order progresses that are highly likely to correspond to consumer preferences, and which will ultimately contribute to increasing the size of the final order basket.

Increase in average basket

As a reminder, the average basket or ticket equals total sales divided by the total number of orders. It's a highly relevant indicator: it gives a very precise idea of the amount spent by each customer, and thus testifies to your ability to capitalize on each sale.

Self-service technologies are much more than just technical tools. They are truly powerful marketing tools, enabling you to boost your average basket, and thus earn more money on each order, while generating more orders. To quote a few figures: tabletop payment solutions such as QR Code can increase your average basket by around 10%.

At the same time, order terminals are the most efficient on the market, delivering between 15% and 30% increase in average ticket sales, and over 50% in additional sales. Each customer is alone in front of the screen when taking an order, giving them greater autonomy and freedom. They can therefore take their time to think carefully about what they are going to order.

In this context, an up-selling or cross-selling strategy can be highly effective. The ability to compose one's own menu, intelligent suggestions, menu personalization (menu size, composition, etc.) all help to encourage customers to add more items to their baskets: dishes, desserts, drinks and other options.

So the likelihood of these options being added to the final shopping basket will be high.

‍