Posted on: November 12, 2021
By: Dina Townsend
In our first installment of our 3-part series on The Evolution of Technology in Food Service, we looked at the way indoor dining has been impacted by the pandemic. In Part 2, we explored the “In’s & Out’s” (get it 😉) of Take Away. In our final installment we will tackle the very specialized and vital element of Drive-Thru. On average, the Drive-Thru is responsible for 60-70% of a quick serve restaurant’s (QSR) revenue and yet, only about 20% of Drive-Thru’s have digital menu boards. This is an area of missed opportunity that many large brands are starting to seriously evaluate. No surprise, the pandemic and the safety afforded to customers by having a contactless journey has escalated the value proposition in this key area, and the race is on! This area has become so important that many QSR’s are expanding their Drive-Thru to include multiple lanes and overhead signage that communicates brand and promotional messaging to cars in line.
The Drive-Thru can be dynamic in that screens can be leveraged to show broader brand content when no one is in the drive through lane. Once a car is sensed, which can be done by several trigger mechanisms, menu board content can be initiated and then loop back to brand content once the car has completed their transaction. Among many important considerations here are readability which includes the size and font of the text, the clarity of that text, the resolution of the screen and screen brightness, as well as an overall easy to read arrangement of items. Menu board screens, while they can show brand content when not in use, should not loop between menu and limited time offer or promotional content as that creates a frustrating and confusing experience for the patron as they wait for the items to present back on screen so they can finish making their decisions. A better experience is to have a dedicated screen that plays this type of content either overhead before reaching the menu boards while cars are in the queue or next to the main menu boards.
As we noted in Part 2 of this series, but it bears repeating, we talk a lot in the technology space about Day 2 issues and how to mitigate their impact on digital signage. They are the ‘unknown unknowns’. The pandemic has taught us that every single day in the life of our communication efforts must be one punctuated by agility, flexibility, accuracy, and immediacy. The Drive-Thru is an important revenue generating element of the QSR ecosystem. It is a specialized area and one that has many moving parts. The YCD team and our global partners have the expertise and solutions that make it easier to navigate and more likely to succeed. Our team is ready to help you!
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