Why Ordering Meals at a Kiosk Can Be Clean, Simple—And Extra Costly Than You Understand

Ordering at a restaurant kiosk might prevent time. It could additionally stick you with the next tab.

Chains from Panera to Shake Shack have rolled out the machines in recent times. A number of have cited their document of bolstering gross sales: Tabs are about 8% increased at quick-service venues and 15% greater at fast-casual eating places when prospects order at a kiosk somewhat than with an worker, in accordance with 2024 surveys from Technomic, a meals service analysis and consulting agency.

Specialists have a number of theories on why we spend extra within the glow of the kiosk. Gross sales associates could not recommend including a drink or facet to each diner if dozens are lined up in entrance of their registers, however machines always remember to upsell, restaurant executives stated. Kiosks additionally function mouth-watering footage, and make folks sure they gained’t be judged for indulging, trade consultants stated.

“We now have kiosks in all of our Shacks, and it has been a tremendous contributor to our enterprise,” Shake Shack CEO Robert Lynch stated in December, in accordance with a transcript offered by AlphaSense. “It’s positively delivering a test profit.”

Shake Shack’s (SHAK) baseline expectation is that the know-how will elevate gross sales by a excessive, single-digit p.c, CFO Katie Fogertey stated final spring. Burger chain Jack within the Field (JACK) and salad maker Sweetgreen (SG) touted kiosks’ skill to push up gross sales at the very least 10% whereas discussing plans inside the previous yr to broaden their use.

Kiosks can enhance gross sales and collect beneficial shopper information, however the machines carry out worse in eating places with traces, in accordance with Lu Lu, an affiliate professor at Temple College’s Faculty of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Administration. Prospects really feel extra strain to hurry at a kiosk than on the register when others are ready behind them, she stated, as a result of they concern being blamed for a slowdown.

“They have a tendency to spend much less time looking via menu choices, and finally, they order much less,” Lu stated.

Kiosks may additionally be getting credit score for attracting shoppers who’re likelier to get extra whether or not they order on the counter or a machine, stated Robert Byrne, senior director of shopper analysis at Technomic. This consists of high-income prospects and enormous teams which might be extra prone to cut up extras, equivalent to sides and desserts. 

Some eating places flip to the know-how as a result of they imagine it could actually reduce workers’ load—a transfer that’s particularly useful in tight labor markets, Lu stated. However restaurant executives have reported combined outcomes on how the know-how impacts staffing. 

FGNY, which owns 5 Guys franchises, has workers stationed close to kiosks to greet prospects and assist them navigate the know-how, CEO Patrice Leys stated. Common gross sales have grown about 15% with the know-how, Leys stated, however he takes a deliberate method to rolling them out throughout his 55 eating places in New York.

“We don’t need to simply rush into it,” Leys stated, including that 5 Guys is thought for having “a really homey really feel.”

Kiosks assist workers at Xi’an Fancy Meals give attention to the dishes, which showcase delicacies from north-central China, stated Jason Wang, CEO of the New York Metropolis-based fast-casual chain. Wang believes individuals are extra conscious of the monetary implications of their orders once they communicate or hear a sum aloud.

“When you’re simply clicking buttons, it feels much less actual,” Wang stated.