Why Quick Service Restaurants Are Switching to Digital Displays.
All you have to do is take a look at some of the leading names, and it becomes quickly apparent that the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry is a fast-paced and highly competitive market
With rapidly evolving consumer expectations comes an extra need for increased operational efficiency.
To this end, QSRs are increasingly adopting digital displays to modernise their operations, improve customer experience, whilst at the same time driving revenue higher.
In this inurface media blog, we look at why QSRs are making the switch, and why digital display solutions are the best choice for QSRs looking to thrive in the era of digital transformation.
1. Enhanced Customer Experience
To put it in a nutshell – Digital displays help to improve communication, promote products and elevate customer interaction.
With dynamic digital menu boards and promotional displays, digital signage gives QSRs the chance to offer real-time updates and vibrant visual content that enhances the customer experience.
- Instant menu updates: Digital displays allow QSRs to adjust pricing, promotions, and menu items in real-time, ensuring accuracy and flexibility. This is particularly valuable for limited-time offers or seasonally changing menus.
- Engaging visuals: We’ve all been stood queuing at a fast food restaurant, and had our eyes drawn to the delicious looking new menu item being promoted on the restaurant’s displays. High-definition digital displays can make menu items even more enticing, thanks to high-quality images, videos, and animations that can showcase food in a more appealing way than static, paper menus ever could!
2. Boosting Sales through Dayparting
Dayparting is essentially a marketing strategy that involves dividing the day into specific time periods, or “parts”, to schedule ads or programming.
And so, with dayparting capabilities, digital displays can promote specific menu items based on the time of day, or time of week (e.g., breakfast items in the morning, lunch specials in the afternoon).
This ensures that QSRs can maximise their sales during high-traffic periods and promote the right products at the right time, to appeal to the right people!
3. Operational Efficiency and Cost Reduction
Whilst the upfront cost of installing digital displays can sometimes seem pretty significant – overall, the long-term cost savings make the investment worthwhile.
- Reduced printing and maintenance costs: By switching from traditional printed menus to digital displays, QSRs eliminate the constant costs of printing and distributing menu updates or promotions. Digital displays can be updated remotely and instantly, saving time, labour and operational costs.
- Centralised control: Most digital displays, including the solutions that inurface media provide, come with a content management system (CMS), allowing QSR operators to update all locations from a single platform. This means that whether it’s a global mega-chain or a regional franchise, the CMS offers full control over content and consistency across all outlets.
- Automated scheduling: With automated scheduling there is no need to manually update promotions or menu boards. Built-in scheduling features allow QSRs to set their displays to change content automatically based on preset times, reducing the need for staff intervention and allowing for more seamless operations.
4. The Role of CMS (Content Management Systems) for Digital Displays
Behind every good digital display setup is a powerful Content Management System (CMS). This is where you manage all your digital content – from scheduling menu changes to pushing promotions. Choosing the right CMS can make or break how effective your digital displays are.
Let’s look at one of the leaders in the field: Navori CMS.
As a CMS platform – Navori stands out for its ease of use and advanced features, making it a great option for QSRs. Their system is designed to be user-friendly, allowing even non-technical staff to easily manage content. But it’s not just about simplicity, Navori also offers:
- AI-driven content management, which can automatically schedule content based on key factors like time of day or customer demographics
. - Remote management capabilities, which means you can update and control displays across multiple locations from a central system
. - Powerful analytics, allowing QSRs to track engagement and adjust marketing strategies based on real-time data.For QSRs looking for more than just basic functionality, a CMS like Navori’s can take digital signage to the next level.
You can find out more about Navori HERE
5. Data-Driven Decisions and Dynamic Pricing
CMS & digital displays can integrate with your restaurant’s Point of Sale (POS) system and other business analytics tools to deliver data-driven insights that improve efficiency and targeting.
- Menu optimisation: By analysing sales data, QSRs can easily determine which menu items are the most popular, which ones need a price adjustment, or which underperforming items should be promoted. This data can then be seamlessly reflected on the digital menu boards.
- Dynamic pricing: digital displays allow for dynamic pricing strategies, where QSRs can adjust pricing based on factors such as time of day, demand, and inventory levels.
6. AI Integration
Digital displays and CMS nowadays come packed with innovative AI integrations, which QSRs can tap into to boost their operations.
For example – With AI integration, digital displays & CMS can use data analytics to recommend menu adjustments based on factors like weather patterns, local events, or customer demographics. AI can also predict peak ordering times and adjust menu displays to promote higher-margin items during these periods.
Conclusion
Digital displays are no longer just a quirky little upgrade for QSRs – they’ve become an essential part of running a modern and efficient restaurant.
From making it easier to update menus in real-time to creating a more engaging customer experience, the benefits are hard to ignore. On top of that, the ability to streamline operations improve communication with customers can have a real impact on a QSRs bottom line.
At inurface media, we understand how fast the QSR space moves, and we’re here to help you stay ahead with innovative digital display solutions. Whether you’re looking to enhance your menu boards, improve order efficiency, or just create a more engaging environment for your customers, we’re ready to support you every step of the way.
