Technology

Survey: QSRs, fast casuals expand digital ordering in 2024

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March 6, 2024

QSR and fast casual restaurant guests can expect to see more kiosks in stores this year, as well as new mobile apps and voice AI on the phone and in the drive-thrus. That's according to the fifth annual Qu 2024 State of Digital Report.

QSRs and fast casuals topped the list of new ordering channels planned for 2024.

Self-service preferences have emerged as key to helping brands manage labor challenges and increase sales.

Report findings indicate the future will be data-driven with API-centric platforms, new loyalty frameworks and more AI use cases.

The report also revealed the persistence of digital ordering for brands post-pandemic. After the spikes in recent years, restaurants reported that digital sales make up 26% to 50% of overall sales where they are expected to remain for the next few years.

"Brands have found the sweet spot mix of digital and in-person ordering after a roller coaster few years of getting their online house in order," Qu CEO Amir Hudda said in the press release. "Guests are more comfortable ordering on screens and from their mobile devices. Combine that with a tight labor market and we're seeing a shift to self-serve ordering even in the store."

The findings in the report include the top challenges for enterprise restaurant operators, investment priorities, innovations, digital sales trends and what brands can expect for 2024.

Highlights include:

• Kiosks are making a comeback. Kiosks are the number one order channel to add with 44% of brands planning them in 2024. The top order channels restaurants plan to add in 2024 are: 1) Kiosk 2) Mobile app, 3) Expanded delivery partners, 4) Phone AI ordering, 5) Voice ordering in drive-thru.
• Fewer swings and surprises in digital sales. More than three quarters of brands (77%) increased digital sales in 2023, and 87% expect it to grow again in 2024. Digital ordering is still larger at fast casuals versus QSRs. Nearly half of fast casuals achieved 26% to 50% digital sales, while nearly half of QSRs had 11% to 25% digital sales.
• Loyalty 3.0 emerges as top tech investment for 2024. The vast majority (80%) of respondents say loyalty is not working for their brand. The report predicts a new data-centric loyalty framework will emerge with guest experience at the core.
• Flexible platforms are the future. The shift to flexible API and data-driven platforms is well underway with 65% of respondents saying they plan — or already have — transitioned to a cloud-based, API forward unified ordering and commerce platform. These platforms are proving to deliver ROI through access to and normalization of data, unlocking capabilities for single source of truth and guest personalization.

The Qu 2024 State of Digital Report is based on a survey of industry leaders at enterprise restaurant brands. More than 85% of the respondents were c-suite, vice president or director-level executives at multi-brand, multi-unit operators with a minimum of 20 locations in the U.S.