One of the most successful business franchises in history is in the middle of a dramatic shift to mobile. McDonalds announced that they are adding self-serve kiosks and mobile order technology to 1,000 stores every quarter for the next 2 years. They want to give their customers greater variety when it comes to ordering and paying for meals. McDonalds is all-in on mobile and staying relevant to their customers by expanding the use of mobile technology throughout their business.
Perhaps SMB’s can take some cues from McDonalds shift, and stay ahead of the curve with your product and service offerings. Check out this article that breaks down this dramatic change that will change fast food forever:
“In a very short time, this restaurant has transformed into one of the most innovative and modern restaurants in the U.S.
I’m speaking, of course, about McDonald’s.
Don’t believe me? McDonald’s mobile app is currently ranked #3 in Apple’s app store,with an average rating of 4.5 stars (out of 5) and over 56,000 ratings. (Compare competitor Burger King’s app,which has only 443 ratings for an average of 2.7 stars.)
But it’s the store’s most recent transformation that is sure to change the future of fast food: the placing of self-serve kiosks in every McDonald’s store in the U.S.
In a matter of months, customers will be able to go to any McDonald’s around the country and order directly from one of these kiosks, after which they can then pick up their food at a counter or wait on an employee to bring the meal directly to the table.
“It’s a dramatic change,” McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook told CNBC in a recent interview.
Easterbrook claims the kiosks, which are already in about 50% of U.S. stores, work well on numerous levels. “If people want to just dwell, have a little bit more time, they can go to a self-order kiosk, they can browse through the menu…they can start to see the broader ranges perhaps or they may want to customize the food they’ve got. Then, you can pay clearly on credit [or] debit there as well.”
When people have more time to dwell, explains Easterbrook, they tend to buy more, boosting the average check.
McDonald’s customers in international markets served as a test ground for the kiosks. McDonald’s confidently moved forward after a full rollout in the U.K., Canada, and Australia, where leadership deemed the project a success. To catch up, the company will be adding the kiosks to 1,000 U.S. restaurants per quarter–an average of over 10 per day.
But there’s a reason these kiosks are so successful.
Why these kiosks are a game-changer….”
