Mobile order and pay vs. self-order kiosks

Self-order kiosks have been on a tear in limited service restaurants for the past three years, showing no signs of abating. The benefits include more impulse purchases, fewer order errors, suggested item pairings, larger tickets, lower labor costs and being able to provide information about food ingredients and allergies.

Mobile order and pay has also been exploding, buttressed by health concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants that introduced mobile order and pay prior to the pandemic are reaping great rewards. And while the pandemic won't last forever, the consumer habits being formed are likely to continue post pandemic.

But while surviving the pandemic is a top consideration, do the benefits of self-order kiosks take a back seat to mobile order and pay? The subject was raised during a panel at last week's Fast Casual Executive Summit.

Technologies surpass expectations

Starbird & Culinary Edge Ventures, in San Francisco, has found both mobile pay and self-order kiosks critical tools since the company closed its restaurants in early March, said panelist Aaron Noveshen, founder and president. As much as 85% of the company's transactions are now digital, including self-order kiosks, apps and online.

"What we found is different people have different needs," Noveshen said. Some customers prefer to use mobile, some prefer having orders delivered, some want to have someone hand it to them while others like to navigate their order options on a big touchscreen, he said.

Noveshen's views reflected a consensus that has been voiced for at least the past three years on Kiosk Marketplace: Retailers must allow customers to order and pay whatever way they want.

For Starbird & Culinary Edge Ventures, self-order kiosks have been especially important since the company has not reopened in-store dining. Customer acceptance of outdoor kiosks been much greater than anticipated.

"As long as there is great sanitation available, it's a great tool we're finding," Noveshen said. "It's been incredible to watch how many people have gravitated toward the kiosk."

Where Noveshen initially thought the mobile phone would replace the kiosk, "There's still a large wave of people who don't want to deal with it (the phone)," he said.

Assessing long-term needs

But Noveshen also said it is possible the use of the kiosk will decline as the ease of use for mobile order improves over time, an important observation in trying to assess long-term customer habits.

Noveshen astutely observed that customer needs and expectations change over time. Technology — be it mobile devices or self-service kiosks — drives these changes and must adapt to them.

Panelist Todd Madlener, president and chief operating officer at Coolgreens, an Oklahoma City-based fast causal chain, offered another take on how self-service technology helps a restaurant adapt to change.

While Madlener doesn't see as much of a need for self-order kiosks as Noveshen does with mobile order and pay expanding, he has nonetheless found another need for unattended kiosks.

In the past year, Coolgreens has introduced refrigerated self-serve coolers called Coolgreens Markets that have helped improve the brand's availability. The self-serve cooler allows the customer to open the door by swiping their credit card, allowing them to examine the products before making a selection. The need for this self-service technology became especially important during the pandemic when the company closed its restaurants.

Changing needs and new technology

The takeaway from all these observations is that self-serve kiosks are able to deliver many benefits, and will continue to find new applications as customers' needs change and as new technology — such as artificial intelligence, biometric identity verification and digital currency — evolves.

The need at any one point in time and place can be temporal, as in the case of DVD rentals, or lasting, as in the case of airline check-in.

On the retail front, self-service kiosks will continue to play an important role since they can accept multiple payment options — cash, credit card, debit card, stored value card, gift card and mobile. Customer service concepts that accept payment — such as the emerging cashierless restaurants and convenience stores — need to offer such diverse options.

The technology will also be part of multi-touch digital platforms that connect selling and servicing functions, such as point-of-sale, customer relationship management and order/inventory management.

To return to the question about mobile order and pay impact on self-order kiosks, it's safe to say mobile order and pay will supplant the need for some self-order kiosks, but it will also deliver new opportunities driven by the need for diverse payment acceptance options.

Reader awareness grows

Our readers, for their part, are becoming aware of the rising importance of mobile commerce.

In our 2018 Kiosk Industry Census report, readers ranked "integration with mobile order and/or pay" as the sixth most promising technology among kiosk user organizations out of 18 technologies, tied with cloud technology, trailing remote management, touchscreens, digital media and data analytics.

In the 2019 industry report, "integration with remote order and/or pay" moved up to spot number three behind touchscreens and remote management.

In the 2020 report, "integration with remote order and/or pay" maintained its number three position behind touchscreens and remote management.

The bottom line is that the outlook for self-service technology remains strong as retailers must allow customers to order and pay whatever way they want.