Self-service kiosks are proliferating at fast-food establishments, replacing the traditional human-centered ordering process with interactive, cashier-less touchscreens. You browse the menu, press the screen, and take your seat.
It’s a far cry from the historical experience: You walk into a fast-food restaurant, dragging your kids behind you, and place your order with the teenager behind the counter.
More and more fast-food operators (also known as Quick Service Restaurants, or QSRs) are going digital by testing the self-service option, drawn by potentially larger sales and lower costs.
The total number of restaurant kiosks globally increased 43 percent between 2021 and 2023, nearing 350,000 installations overall, according to a 2024 study. That number is expected to double by 2028.
Though McDonald’s leads the way with more than 130,000 kiosks, brands ranging from Burger King to Shake Shack are trying to catch up, rapidly deploying self-service units.
“Kiosks remain an important priority in delivering a consistent customer experience, driving ticket uplift and streamlining our operations,” Chris Turner, CFO at Yum Brands, told analysts in 2024. The company has installed kiosks in all of its U.S. Taco Bell restaurants, with Yum’s CEO saying average kiosk sales are 10 percent higher than those at the traditional front counter.
Benefits of Self-Service Kiosks
The benefits of this migration away from full service are clear:
- Higher average tickets: Shake Shack CFO Katie Forgerty said on an earnings call that kiosk checks are larger than other in-store channels by “a high teens percentage.”
- Increased speed: one study showed that using kiosks reduced total order time by nearly 40 percent
- Improved accuracy: by allowing customers to view menu items and review their orders before submitting, self-service kiosks help address the most common accuracy issues.
But Don’t Forget the Human Element
Humans, however, remain key to the QSR equation. For all of their benefits, self-service kiosks remove much of the human element from the ordering process.
Often, the only time you deal with a fellow human is when they hand you a bag of food. Research shows that even with vast technological innovations and the move toward artificial intelligence, many people still prefer human interaction to ensure a strong customer experience.
And as ever, it all comes down to the experience. As they smartly embrace digital innovation, QSRs should be careful to preserve at least some human contact, especially for customers who may not be comfortable operating the kiosks.
Some simple ideas: be sure to greet customers when they walk in – and be willing to come out from behind the counter to help them work the kiosk.
Self-Service Kiosks Are Rapidly Growing in QSRs
Some in the fast-food industry were slow to adopt the concept because of concerns about the expense of kiosks or whether customers would adopt them.
But things had already started to change as far back as 2014, when Panera adopted its Panera 2.0 concept, a customer experience initiative that included self-service kiosks.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and the high inflation that followed, which provided a shot in the proverbial arm to those inside the industry pushing digital innovation. Faced with growing labor costs and the need to increase sales, QSRs began turning to kiosks in rapid numbers.
The pandemic “radically changed the way independent restaurants think about self-ordering kiosks,” one restaurant industry blog wrote. “What was once seen as costly and impersonal technology, is now considered a cost-effective solution for restaurants and a convenient option for customers.”
Related: Customer Experience In The Fast Casual Restaurant Industry
Self-Service Fast-Food Leaders
Among the adherents of digital-based ordering is Shake Shack, which has pushed to increase digital sales and successfully implemented kiosks, streamlining ordering and producing higher margins.
By 2024, Shake Shack’s kiosks constituted the chain’s largest and most profitable ordering channel.
As for Taco Bell restaurants, they employed Deloitte Digital to help design kiosks to “evolve their customer experience.” Starting with a pilot kiosk in one store, the chain redesigned the kiosks in line with customer preferences and focused on improving app performance.
The result: in 2024, Taco Bell reported generating 31 percent of its sales from digital channels, with the self-ordering devices playing a large part in the growth. Yum Brands is also pushing to bring kiosks to its other restaurants around the world, which include KFC and Pizza Hut.
Photo: Dan Gingiss points to a self-service kiosk at Whataburger in Las Vegas. Photo by Chris Strub.
Dan Gingiss is a customer experience keynote speaker who has worked extensively with franchise brands.
