It would be an understatement to say the restaurant industry has been completely upended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
And while the public health crisis isn’t over yet, the vaccine is in the early distribution stages. Things are looking up, restaurants are reopening, and businesses are benefiting—in large part due to the self-order kiosks that are helping restaurants make their comebacks safely.
Self-order kiosks are sleek devices that allow guests to place a food order and submit payment themselves. They generally feature a touchscreen—most often a tablet—with a user-friendly digital interface.
Businesses from high-end restaurants to fast-casual eateries can fully customize their kiosks. Guests, meanwhile, can peruse the establishment’s full menu and move seamlessly through the ordering process.
It’s a multi-step approach made easy thanks to the latest tech (and, for many businesses, the public health guidelines resulting from the pandemic). Guests can use kiosks to create a meal, pay for their order, and await pickup—working their way through various promotions, modifications, or even recommendations they might not have otherwise known about.
Now, self-order kiosks aren’t entirely new. Customers, over the years, have come to expect an easy and efficient ordering process in both their online and in-person food purchases. They value control and personalization, a captivating digital experience and quick service—which is exactly what these types of contactless solutions provide.
Before COVID-19, you might have seen kiosks at some of the country’s most popular restaurant chains. McDonald’s, for instance, was an early adopter—installing 2,500 self-order kiosks in many of its spaces, and subsequently reporting a 5% to 6% increase in sales.
The popular sit-down franchise Chili’s noticed a spike in popularity as well—specifically in its dessert sales. The business installed over 45,000 self-order kiosks in its restaurants in 2014, which led to a shocking 20% surge in dessert sales. Not bad, right?
And while major food chains were among the first to adopt this new tech, the pandemic has all but transformed the way restaurants do business. This means that over the past year, even independent joints have begun to leverage self-order kiosks.
Why’s that? Contactless payment solutions—which were once considered expensive and impersonal—are now viewed as a cost-effective, time-efficient, safe alternative to face-to-face interactions between customers and staff. Even full-service restaurants are adopting contactless solutions to streamline their ordering process.
The results are fairly astounding. A recent Tillster poll found that customers are generally eager to use self-order kiosks, no matter their age. 65% of respondents shared they would visit a restaurant more frequently knowing that contactless solutions are available, with 30% stating they prefer kiosks to cashiers regardless of how orderly the former tend to be.
Self-order kiosks are helping restaurants work faster, take orders more accurately, and increase check sizes. Not only that, but the public health benefits are far-reaching. You might say contactless ordering has helped businesses reopen safely during the pandemic.
How so? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds the public that COVID-19 is spread through the exchange of respiratory droplets. And though mask-wearing is essential, it isn't foolproof. This makes contactless ordering all the more worthwhile.
Accordingly, here are several benefits of contactless ordering:
As the COVID-19 pandemic goes on, safety continues to be top of mind. In this way, one key benefit of self-order kiosks is the peace of mind they bring. By reducing in-person interactions, and by facilitating social-distancing, contactless ordering has come to offer restaurants a real competitive advantage.
The truth is that some guests might not feel comfortable dining in restaurants until the vaccine is widely distributed, as there are so many variables at play. Contactless ordering, however, shows both diners and staff that restaurant owners are doing everything they can to keep operations safe and smooth during the pandemic. This will make people more likely to drop by for a quick bite.
We’ve all been there: The salad comes without the dressing on the side. The halibut arrives when you ordered the salmon. Or, maybe the server got their tables jumbled up and delivers your wine to the wrong party. With self-order kiosks, these common mistakes are a thing of the past.
Since contactless payment solutions let customers submit their own orders, guests and staff alike can reap the benefits of the accuracy they bring. Restaurants can say goodbye to offering discounts to jaded diners, or flying around the kitchen to redo an incorrect dish. In addition, since COVID-19 has limited dine-in service in most states, efficiency and getting everything right the first time around have become more vital than ever.
Kiosks’ touchscreen displays can be customized in a way that showcases higher-margin items or popular add-ons first. Upselling is intuitive and subtle, allowing guests to create delicious orders without feeling like they’re being sold to outright by their server.
From two-for-one options to buttons offering additional toppings and premium sides, restaurants’ point-of-sale reports will reflect just how much these little details can add up. And that’s not all: Self-order kiosks also decrease wait times by allowing customers to submit their orders directly to the kitchen in just a few clicks.
Guests can then move right to the counter as soon as their food is ready. Granted, this might not sound like it would make much of a difference time-wise—but data shows that the opposite is true, and that self-order kiosks can decrease wait times by almost 40%. Talk about making a difference.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of contactless ordering is that self-order kiosks help restaurants easily follow public health guidelines. They represent a safe, efficient, cash-free solution for businesses to continue operating during the pandemic.
And given the flexibility and ease of use they bring, they are very likely here to stay—far beyond COVID-19. So, no matter your goals, a self-order kiosk may be just what the chef ordered for your restaurant, fast-casual eatery, farm stand, or food truck this year. Businesses in the food services industry can leverage contactless solutions to embrace the digital transformation we so crave.
Interested in learning more about contactless payments? Start your 30-day free trial with KioskBuddy today, or click here to schedule a quick call with our expert team.