The pandemic brought about a sea change in the restaurant industry. One of the more durable shifts was the acceleration of an ongoing trend toward the widespread adoption of electronic ordering systems in the form of restaurant kiosks.
Self-serve kiosks have become popular because of the many advantages they hold over older ordering and point-of-sale (POS) systems. In this guide, we’ll explore how restaurant kiosks work and why you should consider using an in-store kiosk solution for your restaurant.
Self-serve kiosks function by letting customers browse menu items, place their orders, and checkout all from a single touchscreen device. The order is sent to the back-of-house (BOH) staff in real time.
Self-ordering kiosks boast a high level of order accuracy. Unlike traditional ordering systems, restaurant kiosks almost never make mistakes.
The entire order process from start to finish is simple and smooth. The kiosk software effortlessly guides the user from the food selection step all the way to checkout.
Although self-service kiosks first saw widespread use among fast-food restaurants, like McDonald’s and Taco Bell, the technology has spread to fast-casual, countertop, and quick-service restaurants as well.
You might think that customers would prefer face-to-face interactions over self-service technology. However, customer satisfaction surveys suggest the exact opposite. One survey by IBM found that a clear majority of customers prefer ordering via a self-service kiosk rather than placing an order with an actual human.
Customers aren’t the only ones who benefit from self-service kiosks. Restaurant owners also gain value from the tech. In this section, we’ll look at five advantages to using restaurant kiosks.
Customers order more when they use a self-serve kiosk compared to other ordering methods. One study by McDonald’s showed a 5% to 6% increase in sales, while Chili’s experienced a 20% increase in dessert spending after adopting the technology.
What’s prompting the larger customer orders? Psychology may be at play here. Some customers feel more comfortable ordering greater quantities of food when the possibility of judgment is removed. Customers may also feel less hurried. The extra time spent looking at the menu could also lead to larger orders.
Finally, many kiosk systems make it easy to upsell the customer as they’re ordering. A fast-food restaurant can present users with the choice of purchasing extra toppings, side dishes, or larger portions before checkout.
Whatever the reason, it’s an undeniable fact that embracing a self-service restaurant POS system leads directly to a larger average check size.
A kiosk system decreases your front-of-house (FOH) labor needs. Fast food restaurants and other businesses that rely on counter service can continue operations with a leaner staff. As businesses continue to struggle with the ongoing labor shortage, automation has become an increasingly tantalizing prospect.
Restaurants experiencing high levels of growth can maintain their current staff while creating a pleasant guest experience by lowering customer wait time.
At fast-casual restaurants, kiosk systems can free up waitstaff for other tasks, improving worker productivity.
Many modern kiosk solutions come with an integrated kitchen display system (KDS). Unlike traditional ordering systems that rely on exchanging paper messages between FOH and BOH staff, KDS tools transmit customer orders electronically.
The customer places an order, which is then displayed on a screen in the kitchen. This comprehensive ordering ecosystem enhances speed and accuracy for BOH workers.
Self-serve kiosks directly improve the customer experience in several key ways. These include:
Safety: With lingering fears over the coronavirus, some customers still prefer contactless checkout to methods that demand human contact.
Simple order customization: Customers can easily customize their order to their exact liking. For example, let’s say a customer chooses to order a burger, customization options related to size and ingredients will appear on the screen, so they can easily request a double burger with pickles but no onion.
Loyalty programs: Your customer can both earn and redeem loyalty program points by simply entering their phone number during the self-service ordering process. No need to have a card on hand or remember a special customer ID number.
Flexible receipt options: Give your customers the choice to receive a paper, email, or SMS receipt. Many self-serve kiosks can text the receipt straight to the customer’s phone.
Wait times: By setting up multiple kiosks in your restaurant, you can shorten your lines and customers’ wait times.
Kiosk systems make it easy to update your menu prices and items. Rather than spend the time, money, and effort to print out new menus, you can simply input your desired changes into the system and watch them go live in real time.
The restaurant kiosk industry is rapidly maturing. You can now choose from a number of high-quality types of equipment and software when selecting the right service for your business.
There is no one best type of self-serve kiosk. Instead, you should choose the option most appropriate to your business.
These mini-towers consist of a large, vertical touchscreen and are often placed near the entranceway of a fast-food restaurant or other high-traffic location. Popular with restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King, they’re easy to find and simple to use.
While certain, high-volume fast-food restaurants may benefit from kiosk towers, their higher price point and cumbersome size make them a poor choice for most businesses. Many restaurants would be better served by more compact devices, such as tabletop or wall-mounted kiosks.
More popular with fast-casual dining establishments, tabletop kiosks let your customers order directly from their seats. These tend to be smaller. Many tabletop kiosk software systems make use of conventional tablet devices, such as the Apple iPad.
Because they rely on common hardware and make use of relatively inexpensive kiosk software, tabletop kiosks are accessible at a significantly more affordable price point compared to standalone kiosks. For many small business owners, tabletop kiosks may make better sense financially.
Some tabletop kiosks even make use of an open tab system. This lets the customer make repeat orders without having to go through the inconvenience of paying each time. For bars and other establishments that rely on second rounds of drinks or dessert upsells, an open tab system can directly facilitate larger order sizes and a superior guest experience.
Like the tabletop kiosk, wall-mounted kiosks tend toward the smaller size. Some restaurant owners prefer to place their kiosks on the wall to save precious floor space. One of the primary challenges to the wall-mounted kiosk is ensuring that your hardware stays safe. However, solutions like the Square Kiosk mount make it possible to anchor your tablet device safely and securely to a wall or other hard surface.
Self-service kiosks represent the next evolution of the food service industry. These machines let you slash expenses, enhance efficiency, and increase average order sizes. Tweaking your menu is as simple as opening up the kiosk app on your laptop or tablet device.
You can choose from several different options, including free-standing towers, wall-mounted kiosks, and tabletop kiosks. Each comes with distinct advantages and drawbacks. However, many small businesses would benefit most from a wall-mounted or tabletop kiosk system, such as KioskBuddy.
KioskBuddy offers a strong range of features and a simple, intuitive touchscreen display. Built for the Apple iPad, KioskBuddy makes it easy to get set up. You can create and customize your menu entirely online. Updating prices and menu items is a breeze.
KDS integrations let your BOH staff receive customer orders in real time so they can begin preparing the food. It integrates seamlessly with the Square payment processing system. This lets your customers take control of the entire order process from start to finish.