In our kiosk era
In our kiosk era
A new entry from Square underscores the importance of this tech to the future of quick-service restaurants.
My first thought, after receiving an advance copy of a press release announcing Square’s new self-serve ordering kiosks for restaurants, was, “Didn’t they do this already?”
The answer is no, they didn’t, until today. Square’s new kiosks, per the release, are a fully integrated hardware, software, and payments solution for quick service restaurants. (Previously, the company supported third-party kiosk apps with Square hardware.) The kiosks integrate with Square’s point of sale systems and its broader payments products, sending orders directly to the kitchen — Square also makes a digital kitchen display system, KDS in the lingo — and quickly updating menu availability once an item has been 86’ed from the kitchen.
Sidenote: This 86ing has become such a common marketing line for ordering technology but how often is that really happening at quick service restaurants? Serious question!
The product announcement is an expected — a necessary — move for Square in its bid to serve more restaurants. Connected kiosks, whether built in-house or third-party software, are proving critical to quick-service restaurant success, hence my initial confusion. They’ve arrived.
Kiosks are having a moment.
Call it a Covid relic or just a symptom of a shifting consumer base… people love ordering from a screen. New data from the National Restaurant Association shows that 65 percent of adults would be happy to order from a kiosk — but that number is skewed by respondents age 60 and over. 82 percent of millennials, 73 percent of gen Z adults, and 72 percent of gen Xers said they’re into it. (Percentage breakdowns for adults likely to pay using a self-service kiosk were nearly identical.)
I’ve got Shake Shack on the brain after interviewing two of its executives over a few weeks recently, but it’s a perfect example of the tech’s evolution. Notably, outgoing CEO Randy Garutti explained kiosks as a modern hospitality offering, giving guests a tool to complete an in-store order quickly. Kiosks are the chain’s largest ordering channel and its most profitable. In fact, kiosks work so well for the brand that the company hastened their rollout last year, adding them to all stores ahead of schedule.
Expect to see more kiosks in more restaurants. The same research from the National Restaurant Association also found that 1 in 4 restaurant operators plan to devote resources to self-service ordering and payment tech, like kiosks, this year.
Outsourcing ordering to a screen doesn’t magically solve the ordering experience.
A recent study from Temple University in Philadelphia highlighted the pressure that diners feel to order quickly at kiosks if there’s a line behind them. People feel more anxious about long lines when they’re self-ordering than when they order from a person, the study finds — presumably because a diner might share the blame for a slowdown with the employee manning the register.
The study also found that long lines might cause customers to rush, ordering fewer items than they might have otherwise, or defaulting to a frequent order instead of trying something new.
That’s potentially concerning, but the screens probably still have the advantage. In a recent interview, Brandon Barton, CEO of Bite, a kiosk ordering company1, told me that “one is not the right number” of kiosks. Their promise, he said, is that restaurants can install a lot of them — as many as they need during busy hours — and even tweak the tech to move faster during certain hours, or offer a limited menu of most popular items.
Tomorrow!
I’m interviewing Roy Choi tomorrow, Wednesday, May 8, in the keynote address for Yelp’s Local Business Summit at 11am ET / 8am PDT. Registration is free.
What else?
Instacart taps Uber Eats for restaurant delivery. Because it’s apparently too much to use separate apps, Instacart is adding restaurant delivery to its channels through partnership with Uber Eats. — The Verge
“I let TikTok tell me where to eat. Here’s what I learned.” I guess this kind of makes the case, intentionally or not, for professional restaurant critics. — New York Times
“Please stop with the ‘impossible reservations’ articles.” Yay, I am not the only one who feels this way! Blame the algorithms? Blame the media? (Unsurprisingly, I am generally against the “blame the journalists for clicks and comments” narrative, because the days of clicks and comments as a success metric are over.) The reservations debate plays well enough on social media, I guess, but I remain surprised by continued reader interest in stories like these. That doesn’t mean we have to keep writing them! —
Disclosure: Brandon is also the co-host of my podcast, The Simmer, and Bite is its main sponsor. The Simmer remains an independent editorial production.