Revamping Fast Food: McDonald's Digital Menu Revolution
In the years 2018-2019, McDonald’s took a bold step to the tune of $6 billion, in response to the demands of our digitized world. As a part of their “Experience of the Future” initiative, McDonald’s embarked on a redesign plan that included installing digital menu boards.
Although the COVID pandemic slowed down the initiative, McDonald’s had already made significant progress. Around 10,000 out of 14,000 restaurants in the United States were redesigned.
McDonald’s added other innovations to this initiative, like comfortable seats, mobile apps, and even self-order kiosks. However, digital menus completely transformed how customers interact with the restaurant.
What made digital signage so crucial to their redesign? Why did McDonald’s include digital menus? And what can other restaurants learn from their initiative? Read on for answers.
Why Did McDonald’s Switch to Digital Menus?
No restaurant would switch to digital menus just for fun, especially a popular one like McDonald’s. The move was strategic and aimed at reaping the benefits of digital signage.
For starters, traditional menus are rigid and not suitable for quick updates. To change a price or add an item, restaurants would need to reprint. In contrast, digital menus adapt to quick changes. With just a few clicks, you can update prices and items. It’s no surprise that McDonald’s opted for this switch.
Besides updating prices and adding items, McDonald’s uses digital menus to attract customers with promotional displays flashing across the screens. This would be impossible to do with a traditional menu. They also manage breakfast and lunch items with ease.
McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook further emphasized that digital menus were key to transforming the brand’s engagement with customers. As he put it, “We’re leveraging technology to improve how we connect with customers.”
Judging by customer response, Easterbrook’s goal was achieved. Positive reviews attest to a better customer experience, evidenced by the increase in visits. The company also experienced an increase in sales, proving the efficacy of its strategy.
Benefits of Digital Menu Boards
Some may argue that McDonald’s experienced success with digital signage because of its size. However, the benefits are not limited to large chains. Smaller restaurants can also enjoy the advantages of digital menus.
Here are some of them:
1. Cost-Effective
This benefit is not immediately obvious due to the initial costs of purchasing and setting up digital menus. However, it becomes apparent in the long term. Digital menus eliminate the need for recurring printing costs. In addition, the increased sales cover the initial cost.
2. Helps With Ordering
Digital menus allow restaurants to arrange items and prices in a more orderly fashion, making it easier for customers to locate what they want. Printed menus carry both breakfast and lunch items, which can become disconcerting for customers.
Imagine seeing an Egg McMuffin, but it’s unavailable. Digital menus display exactly what is available at a particular moment.
3. Effective Advertising Tool
Digital menu boards double as advertising tools, both by creating brand awareness and driving purchases. The attractive visuals, complete with animations and graphics, create a positive brand image. Promotions on the menu boards increase the likelihood of purchases.
4. Easy Menu Updates
As mentioned earlier, digital menus are flexible and easily updated. For example, during special seasons like Valentine's, restaurants offer themed delicacies fit for couples. Printed menus would incur extra printing costs, but digital menus can easily be updated. The same applies to special discounts, promotions, announcements, or price changes.
5. Improves Aesthetics
In addition to their features and advertisement purposes, digital menus enhance the beauty of restaurants. The modernized touch and sleek appearance are appealing, good for designs, and welcoming to customers. This benefit explains why McDonald’s added these menus to their redesign initiative.
How Digital Signage Can Help Your Restaurant
Are you considering upgrading your restaurant with digital menus? If yes, here’s where to start: First, choose a signage platform with a cloud management system, enabling you to control multiple screens. Prioritize ease of use, ensuring your customers won’t feel like they are crossing a maze when ordering.
Another key factor to consider is how user-friendly the signage is for you and your staff. With the right digital signage, you can perform numerous operations with ease, from promotions to seasonal delicacies. A user-friendly digital signage system eases the burdens of constant updates. Operations become smooth for everyone involved.
Furthermore, prioritize digital signage that offers analytics, ensuring you track performance and know what needs to be changed. Pay attention to the design as well, ensuring it fits with your brand’s personality.
Other Restaurants that Use Digital Menus
McDonald’s is not the only restaurant to have caught the digital menu bug. Other major chains have also switched from printed menus to digital ones. Some examples are:
- Burger King
- Taco Bell
- Starbucks
- Chipotle
These restaurants and more have employed digital menus to make seamless updates, enhance customer experience, and experience better sales.
The Future of Restaurant Technology
As technology improves, many industries have evolved as well. Restaurants have taken a new shape by replacing printed menus with digital ones. As the world progresses, we envisage more restaurants adopting digital menus. Digital signage also evolves, incorporating innovations like artificial intelligence's personalized functions.
McDonald's serves as an example of how digital signage is an effective strategy for a restaurant’s growth. Both big and small brands can benefit from using digital menus, creating a more welcoming atmosphere for customers and simplifying several operations.
Like McDonald’s, you can transform your restaurant into a place customers would love to spend time in. With beautiful visuals, personalized messages, orderly items, and special promotions, digital menus leave restaurants better than they were before. Patronize reliable providers to get the best versions with the right features.
Wrap Up
McDonald’s made a good decision to include digital menus in their initiative, leading to an increase in sales and a better customer experience. McDonald's move was strategic, yielding returns that made the initial cost worth it.
Digital menus offer numerous benefits to McDonald’s, just as they do to other restaurants, regardless of size. Both big and small restaurants can get a taste of the digital menu cake. Other restaurants have already moved in this direction, purchasing sleek screens for their menus.