The Rise of Digital Menu Boards in Quick-Service Restaurants

Digital menus are on the rise

A new survey has found that 88% of quick-service restaurants are considering a switch to digital menus. This shift to digital menus is likely due to the pandemic, which forced 85% of operators to completely reorganize their operations. One result was a desire for hyper-local menu configurations and updates due to supply chain limitations and ordering preferences. A shift to digital menus would enable restaurant owners to display the most accurate menu items, thereby improving order efficiency.

The Benefits of a Digital Menu Board

There are several advantages to switching to a digital menu board. Here are some of the benefits that come with using a digital menu board instead of a conventional menu.

Provides a Better Customer Experience

Customer service has gotten a lot better since the introduction of digital displays and menu boards. You no longer have to wait  for a server or place your order at the counter; instead, you may just walk up to a self-service digital display and type in your order. This streamlined process makes it easy and convenient for customers to get their food, and it also eliminates potential errors that can occur when orders are taken manually. In addition, digital displays add a modern touch to restaurants, giving them an updated and sleek look. And because customers can see what they're ordering before they purchase it, there's increased engagement and satisfaction with the final product. Overall, digital displays and menu boards provide a superior customer experience that is convenient, efficient, and enjoyable.

Digital Menu Boards Increase Sales

The use of digital signage enables you to update content quickly, including the display of promotional offers like food and drink pairings, appetizer ideas, desserts, side options, or entrée suggestions. Having a digital menu board will aid in the increase of your average ticket amount since consumers will be able to view all of their alternatives and make an educated decision about what they would like to order. Because customers can only see a restricted number of information on static signs, they are more likely to make a hasty selection without considering all of their possibilities.

An experiment from Living Retail Lab tested out three different types of digital menu boards

• The first was a static pegboard menu, text-only, non digital.

• The second was a menu board with images. Sales started to increase with the addition of images.

• The third experiment included slight animation, and the sales for that group increased dramatically. In fact, when the content on the screen featured a glass of wine for women, sales went up even more. But if a man was looking at the display, he was more likely to buy an Old Fashioned cocktail—sales in that category rose by more than 800%. These results indicate that digital menu boards with eye-catching content are most successful in boosting sales.

Here is a full video of the experiment:

Digital Signage in Restaurants reduces perceived wait time at the counter

Digital menu boards have been shown to help reduce the perceived wait time at restaurants. This is because people have something to look at while they are waiting, which makes the time seem to go by faster. Additionally, digital menu boards can help customers make faster decisions about what to order, which speeds up the line and makes service go smoother for both your staff and patrons. All of this contributes to a better customer experience.

Additionally, queue management with digital signage can help reduce the estimated wait time by up to 35 percent (source). Signage can direct customers to the purchase points and  display the estimated waiting time, which helps to keep customers informed about how long they will have to wait. This can help to reduce frustration and keep the line moving, which can ultimately lead to shorter wait times.

Improved Overall Efficiency for Self-service kiosks

Digital menu boards can make ordering easier for your customers. If you have a self-service kiosk, customers can place their orders directly on the screen without having to wait for a server. This can help reduce congestion during peak times and improve overall efficiency in your restaurant. Digital menu boards can also provide customers with more information about your products, including dietary options and allergens. This can help customers make more informed choices and improve their overall dining experience. Whether you're responding to customer feedback or seasonal demand, digital menu boards can help you keep your menu fresh and exciting.

Creating Your Own Digital Menu with Intuiface

Now that we've seen the benefits of a digital menu board, let's take a look at how you can create one yourself.

If you're not sure where to start, there are plenty of examples available in Intuiface that you can customize to fit your needs.

Once you've designed your board, it's time to add content -such as categories, item names, prices, images, etc. You have a few options for storing this content. For example, you could adopt a third-party solution and integrate it with your Intuiface experience as discussed in our Help Center.

Alternatively, you can use Intuiface's own headless CMS. Headless CMS provides a cloud-based repository for managing all the media and information consumed by your Intuiface deployments, which means restaurant owners can focus on simply defining, storing, and managing their data without worrying about how it will be used or displayed. Headless CMS makes it easy to keep your content up-to-date across all of your digital menus, regardless of how they are implemented.

By the way: It’s also possible to utilize Excel for local storage, typically best for chains with a small number of restaurants. Your Intuiface experience can write to and read from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. By listing information and media references in a spreadsheet, Intuiface will be able to read, filter, sort and display that content using templates you create. If the spreadsheet is updated, the display will update automatically as well. Just keep in mind that each installation will have its own spreadsheet, meaning every instance will have to updated separately whenever you’ve made changes.

Conclusion

Digital menu boards are becoming an increasingly popular way for restaurants to display their menus and facilitate ordering. Not only do they look more professional than a handwritten sign, but they can also help improve efficiency and sales. In this article, we've looked at the benefits of digital menu boards and how you can create one yourself using Intuiface. So what are you waiting for? Start creating your own digital menu board today!

Sources

_{https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/88-of-restaurants-considering-swapping-to-digital-menus-survey-says/595558/}

_{https://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/advantages-disadvantages-digital-menu-boards-02064317}

_{https://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/blogs/how-digital-signage-reduces-perceived-wait-times}/

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