Operations

Restaurant Kiosks: Here’s What to Know in 2024

March 4, 2024

If you’re exploring kiosks to streamline your ordering process, make sure you understand the current landscape.

It’s no secret that there’s a labor shortage in restaurants. In fact, in the National Restaurant Association’s 2024 State of the Restaurant Industry report, 45% of operators said they need more employees to support customer demand. Nearly a third predicted that recruiting and retaining staff will be the most significant challenge to meet this year.

This dilemma requires restaurants to use new innovations to maintain their operations effectively. Restaurants are on board: 47% of operators think using tech to help with labor challenges will become more common.

That’s where restaurant kiosks come in.

Kiosks allow quick service restaurants to operate more efficiently, freeing up employees to support faster kitchen production or create more hospitable experiences. Plus, 64% of customers prefer to order digitally on-premises at quick-service restaurants, making kiosks a win-win solution.

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What is a Restaurant Kiosk?

A restaurant kiosk is a machine that displays a menu and allows diners to place their own orders and complete payment using a touchscreen. Some are freestanding units while others are countertop displays. Once a customer submits an order, the information is synced with back-of-house operations and order fulfillment begins in the kitchen.

How Do Kiosks Help Restaurants?

Self-service kiosks can enhance both restaurant operations and guest experiences, not to mention help operators navigate persistent staffing issues. There are four main benefits of kiosks covered below, but at a high level, the biggest perks are increased sales and happier diners.

Better hospitality experiences

In a world where a restaurant labor shortage exists, kiosks can fill gaps when hiring is challenging. Restaurant operators already have a hard time finding staff — technology like kiosks help restaurants better utilize their existing employees without needing to close or reduce hours due to lack of team members. Plus, without needing to manage an ordering process, QSR employees can take a note from full-service restaurants and turn their attention to supporting “surprise and delight” moments like greeting customers and clearing tables.

Improved efficiency and speed

Putting ordering in the hands of customers means staff can be reallocated to other positions, like order production, which can drastically speed up the number of orders fulfilled — especially during peak times — and reduce wait times for diners.

More revenue

Thanks to upselling techniques like suggestive selling or combo deal packages, kiosks can increase ticket sizes. The layout of your menu on the kiosk can be configured to draw more attention to higher ticket items or higher margin dishes. Customers often feel more comfortable opting into upsells throughout their ordering process with no one watching. Research even shows that diners using self-service kiosks purchase 10–30% more than those who order through a restaurant employee.

Enhanced customer satisfaction

When customers are in control of managing their own order, there are typically fewer errors and increased accuracy. Customization is also directly available to customers, which is helpful for when order modifications are difficult to communicate and better left for diners to handle themselves. Overall, kiosks can be key to creating happy customers — the first step in building diner relationships and generating return visits.

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What to Look For in a Restaurant Kiosk

Once you’re ready to invest in a kiosk for your restaurant, here are three components that an ideal solution will have. Keep these in mind when you’re researching on your own, and ask about these product features if you’ve booked a demo with a company.

Custom modifiers

Offering modifications on your menu should be an easy process. Look for a kiosk that makes it easy and intuitive. Ideally, you’ll be able to adjust modifiers in the back end of your system that reflects across all of your ordering platforms — from kiosks to online ordering. Another thing to keep an eye out for is the ability to adjust modifiers on a location-by-location basis.

Customized branding

Your kiosk should feel like an extension of your brand and match the look of your online ordering, website, and email marketing campaigns. Find out how much customization is possible. Ideally, you’d want to be able to adjust key elements on the kiosk like a logo, color palette, and fonts to match your brand identity.

Multiple fulfillment options

Customers might want to order through the kiosk for in-person dining or to-go orders. Make sure the system you select can support both. In a study from PYMNTS, The Digital Divide: Technology, the Metaverse and the Future of Dining Out, 51% of grab-and-go customers said ordering through a self-service kiosk would positively impact their satisfaction.