I work on the operations side of self-order kiosks so I get to see data from a ton of different restaurant setups. Counter service, kiosks, mobile order, tablets, you name it. Been comparing performance across about 400 locations over the last two quarters and wanted to share what actually moves the needle.
Kiosks with pictures of every menu item outsell ones with text-only menus by about 22%. Sounds obvious but you would be shocked how many operators skip photography to save a few hundred bucks on setup. That 22% translates to roughly $1.80 more per ticket on a $15 average check.
Locations running both counter and kiosk side by side see kiosk tickets come in 12 to 18% higher than cashier tickets. The big driver is upsells. People say yes to add-ons on a screen way more than when a cashier asks them. Nobody feels judged adding extra cheese when its a screen asking.
The worst performing setup I keep seeing is tablet ordering at the table in QSR. Completion rates hover around 60% which means 4 out of 10 people start an order and bail. They end up going to the counter anyway and now you have wasted their time and yours.
Restaurants that let customers reorder previous meals from any channel see repeat visit frequency go up about 15% over 90 days. This one was the biggest surprise to me. Turns out people really do want to just hit a button and get the same thing.
Line speed matters more than anything. Locations that got their door to food time under 4 minutes had 30% better google review scores than places averaging 7 plus minutes. Same food, same price, just faster.
Curious what setups you all are running and whether these numbers match what you are seeing on your end.