Self-ordering kiosks are becoming increasingly popular.
And it’s safe to say that they have successfully replaced printed menus to become a piece of standardized ordering equipment for restaurants around the world.
While food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King were the first to adopt self-ordering kiosks, independent restaurants are also catching up.
COVID-19 did play its part in promoting self-ordering technology tools, there are also many benefits to implementing self-service kiosks.
In this blog, we’ll be exploring those and understanding how self-ordering kiosks are the secret to higher customer satisfaction and skyrocketing sales.
What is a self-order kiosk?
As evident from the name, a self-ordering kiosk is a piece of technology that allows customers to order and pay for their food on their own.
In simpler terms, a self-ordering kiosk is a digitized vending machine.
When customers walk into your restaurant, they no longer need to wait for the front-house staff to collect their orders.
Instead, they can simply tap into a self-service kiosk, adjust the quantity of meals, customize it, and they are good to go.
As you can see, self-serving kiosks are raising the bar of online restaurant ordering to a whole new level.
Self-ordering kiosks usually consist of a touch screen that is paired with online ordering software.
Simply by clicking on the screen, customers can navigate through the restaurant’s menu. They can add dishes of their choice to the cart and check out.
Some restaurants offer an option to customize meals, which also can be done through these kiosks. Some even use these self-ordering kiosks to display promotional offers or restaurant specials.
Hence, self-service kiosks take care of everything from ordering to payments. This relieves pressure off your restaurant staff and streamlines dining experiences for your customers.
Why are self-order kiosks so popular today?
Post-COVID, a lot of restaurant chains in the USA started using self-service kiosks to receive orders, and the results were truly shocking.
According to McDonald’s, implementing self-ordering kiosks helped them increase their annual sales across North America by 6%.
Chilies, another popular restaurant chain in the USA, saw a surge in dessert orders by 20%—all thanks to their self-order kiosks.
If we were to refer to independent studies, a survey by Tillster conclusively reports that 65% of shoppers are more likely to visit a restaurant again if the restaurant has a self-service kiosk.
While 30% of the surveyed shoppers said they would prefer to order from a self-order kiosk rather than at the checkout if the lines were the same length.
It’s no longer only tech-savvy millennials who want to see more tech in their favorite restaurants. People across all age groups are adopting self-servicing kiosks with open arms.
Customers not only want but also expect their restaurants to up their ordering processes through a self-ordering booth.
Hence, as a restaurant owner, you must consider investing in self-serving technology at your restaurant because the returns on this are truly phenomenal.
Benefits of Self-Ordering Kiosks for Restaurants
Now that we’ve understood the far-reaching impact of self-service kiosks, let’s look at some of the yields brought about by self-servicing kiosks.
Customer satisfaction and contactless POS are obvious advantages of self-service kiosks.
But did you know that self-service kiosks can help you curb your overheads? They can reduce wait times and help you run a streamlined service even when running a full house.
So let’s take a deeper look at the benefits of implementing a self-service ordering system.
Increased Customer Satisfaction
Long wait times at restaurants can be frustrating. Did you know that about 91% of consumers walk away from queues that have more than 10 individuals?
Come weekends, most restaurants are buzzing full. In this scenario, having to wait for the front-house staff to collect orders can be excruciating.
Self-ordering kiosks solve this problem entirely. Customers no longer need to wait in queues to place orders. They can easily step up to a self-service kiosk, input their order, and get a time estimate.
As you can see, the addition of self-serve kiosks streamlines the ordering experience and also takes the pressure off your service staff. Self-ordering booths can automate ordering and payments and allow customers to enjoy their meals without having to wait for hours.
Thus, heightening customer experience and satisfaction. And we don’t need to tell you how happy customers can be the competitive edge you need in this fast-paced food and service industry.
Here’s how self-ordering kiosks are enhancing customer satisfaction:
a) By Reducing wait times
When customers leave your restaurant because it’s too crowded or the service is too slow—you’re essentially losing money.
This is where a self-ordering booth can help you. Streamline ordering and eliminate long wait times with self-ordering kiosks.
By removing the friction caused by multiple touch points like wait staff, kitchen, managers, and accountants, you’re not only capitalizing on missed opportunities but also reducing consumer frustration.
b) Increasing Order Accuracy
Self-service kiosks ensure order accuracy. Customers can use food-ordering kiosks to place orders and make the necessary adjustments themselves.
Suppose the customer has a complicated order with multiple add-ons or eliminations. In this scenario, your waitstaff no longer needs to remember the order or even take the pressure of communicating it correctly to the restaurant kitchen.
With a food ordering kiosk, the customers can enter the order themselves. Hence, these self-service kiosks eliminate the need for your staff to go back and forth.
Self-serve kiosks eliminate any order errors and can further help you create seamless dining experiences for your customers.
Increase operational efficiency
Self-service kiosks are truly a game-changer. They have revolutionized restaurant ordering by allowing consumers to take charge of their orders and payment processes.
Automated self-ordering kiosks can help customers place orders quickly, thus greatly boosting the restaurant’s operational efficiency.
Kiosks can also speed up the process of payments, reviews, and feedback.
Hence, enabling restaurants to clear tables faster and accommodate more customers without the addition of more front-house staff.
Boosting Restaurant’s Revenue
Most restaurants are still struggling to maximize sales. Despite having multiple options, they’re only able to push certain side dishes to their customers.
This can be a crucial reason why restaurants aren’t able to boost their profit margins. With the help of a self-ordering kiosk, this problem can be tackled gracefully.
a) Finding opportunities to Upsell
Restaurant kiosks are increasing profits because they upsell more often than cashiers do. Customers often spend an extra 20% while using self-service kiosks. The display of the most popular products immediately entices customers.
The system may recommend extras to clients, such as a topping or a side dish. Most visitors don’t like upselling attempts made in person. However, visitors are more likely to place an order when presented with helpful advice.
b) Increased order frequency
Kiosks are more efficient than cash registers when it comes to taking orders. Total order time, or the time it took from when a customer began ordering until their food was available for pickup, was reduced by 40% in QSRs with kiosks. It is a huge win for QSRs since studies show that even a 7-second decrease in customer wait times may boost potential market share by as much as 3%.
A study by Harvard Business Review found that taking orders using self-service kiosks resulted in a 20% increase in revenue compared to using human cashiers. In McDonald’s, the study discovered that customers spend around one dollar more using a kiosk, leading to a 30% rise in average cheque size.
How to tactfully deploy self-ordering kiosks
To successfully implement self-ordering kiosks, restaurant owners must tailor their solutions to meet their customer’s needs.
Don’t Over Complicate your UI
By keeping the interface simple and user-friendly, a lot of confusion on the part of the user can be eliminated. Keep the navigation straightforward and use visually appealing images to entice customers.
Strike the perfect balance
To further enhance the process of self-ordering, restaurants must balance human interaction with automation. While some customers are comfortable ordering independently, others may require assistance. Hence, it makes sense to combine human connection with tech advancements for the best results. Have a trained staff member close to the kiosk to help customers whenever needed.
Consider Customer Preferences
Lastly, it’s important to customize and update the menu as per customer’s preferences. This can be done by regularly checking into data insights and seeing what dishes get ordered the most. Keep frequently ordered dishes on the top to encourage reorders. You can also look at ratings and reviews and promote dishes that your customers have enjoyed eating in the past few days.
Taking these measures will greatly boost the effectiveness of your restaurant’s self-serve kiosk and can even improve customer ordering experiences.
How Deonde Ressto can help with your self-ordering kiosk
Implementing a self-ordering kiosk is easier said than done.
In this blog, we have discussed the advantages of a self-service kiosk for restaurant owners and their customers.
While it’s clear that kiosks offer many benefits for restaurants, getting one up and running isn’t as straightforward as it may seem.
The wall-mounted or freestanding self-service kiosks are enterprise-level solutions run by online ordering software.
Deonde Ressto can help you customize an online ordering software for your brand that seamlessly integrates with your POS so you can track inventory, orders, payments, and everyday profits.
Here are some of the key features included in Deonde Ressto’s self-ordering kiosk software solution:
Interactive Menus
Includes a visually appealing list of dishes served at your restaurant. Each listed item goes on with a picture and a brief description. By clicking on it, customers can further explore the description, list of ingredients, and nutritional values.
We also offer Menu prompts to promote upselling. This eventually leads to an increase in average order values.
Add-to-Cart Option
Customers can add the dishes they like to the digital cart and check them before payments. This increases order accuracy. Customers can always go back, add, edit, or delete items before they checkout.
Customer Notifications:
We can further help improve customer’s dining experience by helping them track their order’s progress. We’ll let customers know when their order is up through a text. That way, customers will have real-time estimates and can track their orders with complete transparency.
Payment Gateways
Our self-serve kiosk software includes built-in payment options. We’re able to support multiple payment methods, including debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, Phone pay, PayPal, and more. We are accommodating more and more payment processing methods because today’s customers demand contactless, tap-only payment options. Hence, for a seamless experience from ordering to payments, choose Deonde.
Conclusion: Setting your restaurant up for success
Granted that self-ordering kiosks involve a significant upfront investment. But weigh that against all the benefits and advantages and the price seems fairly justified.
As the food service and restaurant industry evolve, restaurant owners should not be hesitant to implement new technologies in their front house. And a self-ordering kiosk is a good place to start.
As seen in this blog, self-service kiosks can streamline restaurant ordering, and payments, and even reduce overhead expenses. They boost a restaurant’s operational efficiency and unlock data insights that can help you significantly improve a restaurant’s service.
If we believe the experts, self-ordering kiosks aren’t going away anytime soon, as more restaurants are actively adopting this technology.
If this seems like something you’d want for your restaurant, please connect with Deonde and we can help you with your very own self-ordering kiosk software.
FAQs
1. What are self-ordering kiosks for restaurants?
Answer: Self-ordering kiosks are instrumental in aiding online food ordering in restaurants. Simply put, a self-ordering kiosk is a digitized vending machine. With its use, customers no longer need to wait for restaurant staff to collect their orders. They can simply tap into a self-serve restaurant kiosk and order food themselves without any hassle.
2.How can self-ordering kiosks improve a restaurant’s efficiency?
Answer: Self-serve kiosks have revolutionized restaurant ordering by allowing consumers to take charge of their orders and payment processes. Automated self-ordering kiosks can help customers place orders quickly, thus greatly boosting the restaurant’s operational efficiency. Kiosks can also speed up the process of payments, reviews, and feedback.
3.Will self-ordering kiosks help increase my restaurant’s revenue?
Answer: One of the biggest advantages of self-ordering kiosks is that it can further boost restaurant revenue. With a digitized online menu, restaurant owners can promote dishes, upsell meals, and also provide automatic suggestions for complementary items like drinks or chips. Customers are more likely to order more when they have control over the ordering process and personalized recommendations.
4.Are self-ordering kiosks difficult to implement in my restaurant?
Answer: Contrary to popular belief, implementing self ordering kiosks is a fairly straightforward process. With the help of Deonde, you can implement a self-ordering kiosk that functions well with your existing POS. Deonde supports your self-kiosk implementation journey throughout the setup process for smooth transitions.
