What Is A Self-Ordering Kiosk?

A self-ordering kiosk is a touchscreen terminal that allows customers to browse a menu, customize orders, and pay without interacting with a cashier.

How Does it Work?

Simple! Just like how you order food in an app or shop online:Touch to start -> browse menu -> select items -> customize your order -> add to cart -> checkout & pay -> receive an order number -> print a receipt if needed (most self-ordering kiosks are integrated with an embedded printer inside).

Where Are They Used?

This is where most people encounter kiosks. They are a staple in both quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Most commonly, kiosks for self-ordering are seen at fast food chains, fast-casual restaurants, coffee shops, food courts & cafeterias, movie theaters, and amusement parks & museums.

Why Self-Ordering Kiosks Are on the Rise

Self-ordering kiosks are not a new technology of the last three years or so. Actually, they have served in the food industry for years, particularly in those developed countries, and gained success. The increasing popularity of self-ordering kiosks is the essential result of technology development, for it facilitates the ordering process with tremendous convenience for customers.

Knowing that, business owners in developing countries follow suit by ordering kiosks for self-ordering convenience to increase their turnovers and revenues. That's why they have been trending for almost a decade.

The Business Case: "Benefits of Self-Ordering Kiosks"

• Increased order value: Like mentioned, self-ordering kiosks not only increase the turnover and revenue for business owners, but more importantly, they offer an incomparably optimized experience with automation for people to order food at restaurants, cafes, bakeries, airports, cinemas, hospitals, and hotels.

• In addition, kiosks for self-ordering are great at suggesting add-ons and upgrades without being pushy. Cite average order value (AOV) increase statistics (e.g., "McDonald's reported a 30% increase in dessert sales").

  
  

• Higher order accuracy: without needing an assistant (e.g., waitress/waiter) to be around for food ordering, customers can order food or a service on their own, which will prevent the scenario of unordered dishes being served on their dining table unless the waiter or waitress mistakes the table number, which happens at a considerably lower rate compared to ordering an unwanted dish for diners at restaurants.

  
  

• Labor Optimization: One of the greatest features of restaurant self-ordering kiosks is that they enable customers to order food to their liking without engaging with restaurant staff, which frees up staff from the register to focus on food preparation, customer service, and order fulfillment, improving speed and experience. Crucially, frame this as "reallocating labor," not "replacing workers."

  
  

• Enhanced Customer Experience: Reduces perceived wait times, offers privacy for custom orders, and is perfect for the tech-savvy generation. More than optimizing the customers' dining experience, it enhances the operational efficiency and attracts more diners to come back for meals based on the preceding dining experience they had at the restaurant.

  
  

• Valuable Data Collection: Kiosks generate data on popular items, customization trends, and peak ordering times, helping with menu and inventory management.

Practical Implementation: "How to Choose & Implement a Self-Ordering Kiosk"

There are a bunch of points to consider when it comes to choosing self-ordering kiosks, which is a significant project that can yield great rewards if done correctly. Prior to that, you might as well balance out if buying self-ordering kiosks brings better value than hiring staff to serve customers, or vice versa. One critical point to keep in mind is that you will need to pay your employees weekly or monthly, which could be way more than just buying a few sets of kiosks for self-ordering. On the other hand, a self-ordering kiosk can't match up to physical personnel in the aspect of offering a better dining experience through chats and positive emotional engagement.

Once you've made up your mind to buy a self-ordering kiosk for your restaurants or other similar businesses, the below points should also cross your mind to avoid any later inconvenience.

Who Is Your User?

Are they tech-savvy millennials, middle-aged consumers, or an older demographic? This impacts how the self-ordering kiosk sellers that you preorder from should design the touchscreen. For instance, a touch screen with less bright color and fonts in an appropriate size will be optimal to use for elderly customers. Likewise, a bright-colored touchscreen with techy icons will appeal to the millennials more.

Where Will They Be Placed?

Self-ordering system machines come in multiple types:

1. Standalone type: It comes in a bigger size and is taller than the other two types of self-ordering kiosks, often placed at bigger restaurants, hotel halls, pizza shops, McDonald's, KFC, and the like.

2. Desk or counter type: As its name suggests, it is placed on desks or counters for customers to fulfill self-ordering. It is the medium size in comparison with the other two types.

3. Wall-mounted type: This might be designed for small restaurants or dining places with smaller spaces. It's awkward to place a much bigger standalone self-ordering kiosk in a crowded restaurant, isn't it?

Set a Budget

Preset a budget that is within your limit. I mean, you should just buy self-ordering kiosksself-ordering kiosk manufacturer with functionalities that meet your needs. Not necessarily to pay for the functionalities that don't suit your business. Any waste is shameful!

Select The Right Vendor

There are a number of sellers on the market who are capable of offering highly customized solutions for self-ordering system machines as a whole. In other words, they can literally meet your needs by customizing all parts of the self-ordering machine. It is better to order from a self-ordering kiosk manufacturer, which will cut off the profit that a deputy seller asks.

Prepare Your Staff & Customers

If you already have a team of staff, explain to them why you're implementing kiosks—to assist them, not replace them. Frame it as a tool to make their jobs easier by reducing repetitive tasks and order errors. Surely they won't resent it and will thank you instead. This makes their work easier.

As for customers, you should use signs to direct customers to kiosks to order. If necessary, offer them an incentive or discount to familiarize them with the ordering process on the machine.

Advanced & Future-Facing Topics

There are a handful of aspects we can talk about regarding this topic. However, I will just list the most critical one, which is “Kiosk vs. mobile ordering.” About a decade or so ago, I did remember ordering food on self-ordering kiosks at fast-food chain restaurants, likely KFC. To this day, in my country, China, roughly over 90% of the restaurants are available with a mobile ordering option. Here's how it works: there are QR code labels available on every table in a restaurant. You can scan the QR code with one of many apps that you have installed on your phone, with WeChat being the dominant one in terms of user numbers. Paying via WeChat also accounts for the most practices since it has 400 million users here in China. As a user of WeChat as well as a few other apps, you can bind your bank card to them to pay for your orders online or even offline.

In the last few years, even offline, mobile ordering has surpassed or even overtaken, I'd rather say, the market share of self-ordering kiosks. I would like to liken the replacement of mobile ordering over kiosk machines to the succession of a prince to the king.

Nevertheless, I never doubt that self-ordering kiosks will be phased out during the following decade in any country other than my own. Please don't have a sense that I'm bragging or being proud or complacent. Notably, in some countries, they have not come into use yet.

Conclusion

If you're going to run a business, especially one that falls into the food industry that involves customers visiting your place along with scenarios similar to those I exemplified above, buying kiosks for self-ordering is definitely a smart choice for you to consider.

If you happen to be looking for a self ordering kiosk printer with customizable solution demanded, Masung Group can be your choice since we have been in the printing industry for almost 20 years. We are confident in meeting your specific needs.