How Has Technology Increased McDonald's' Bottom Line?
There are many groundbreaking innovations set to take the food industry by storm, but there are four key factors will always determine the bottom line performance of quick service restaurants. These are: the average order value placed by customers, how long customers wait for their meal, how accurately each meal is delivered and what the staff costs are.
The Strategy
Global restaurant chain McDonald's are showing the world just how to increase their bottom line. In 2016, McDonald's introduced their 'Experience of the Future' strategy and a vast array of different technologies were trialled in hundreds of establishments throughout the US. The technologies that increased customer satisfaction and the bottom line were then made into a permanent fixture.
By June 2017, Wall Street analysts recorded that McDonald's' stock was up by 26% YTD, however many other restaurant chains were not rejoicing in stock increases, and restaurant owners are now looking to McDonald's to see what they are doing to cause such a surge. McDonald's’ 'Experience of the Future' strategy looked into how their customers behaved and also provided them with the key experience factors that altered customers’ satisfaction levels.
The Results
By McDonald's tapping into the use of mobile phones in modern society, they have managed to align their brand promise to people’s mobiles and as we know, phones can also integrate with other technologies. Consumers are Ready for Mobile Experiences – are you?
The success of this strategy has been analysed, and when results were finalised, it revealed that technologies that affected certain areas the most were: lower waiting time, average order value, lower staff costs and increased order accuracy.
What you need to take from this, is that McDonald's are making life easier for customers by providing them with technologies that they know how to use. Tablet Technology is starting to transform the food & drink service industry, so restraurant owners need to start upgrading their tech.
Examples of their new technologies include their self-service or self-ordering kiosks, which are now in many McDonald's restaurants across the UK. These kiosks proved to work, as they increased revenues and bottom line results. Technology has changed the hospitality landscape forever, and it has completely altered how consumers engage with a restaurant. Technology will continue to drive change and restaurant owners will have to start integrating technology into their business models or they may start to see a decrease in revenue!
Next Read: Does Going Digital In Restaurants Mean The End Of Great Service?
