Self-service kiosks helped Panera Bread Company increase sales 11.5% on a 2-year basis while simultaneously REDUCING overhead and wait times… that’s a recipe for success that is here to stay.
Prior to implementing Self-service kiosks, Panera was experiencing long lines and ordering wait times upwards of 10 minutes or more at peak times. Long lines and long waits are a BIG problem for restaurants – especially in the “fast” casual or quick-service industries. Statistically, a line of just five people will drive 57% of customers out the door and over to a competitor, according to research. When a line reaches 10 people, 91% of patrons depart.
With the broad acceptance and growing demand for self-service kiosks throughout the restaurant industry, Panera decided to embrace self-service touch screen ordering solutions. For their hardware, system design and rollout, Panera partnered with Lilitab, a global leader in tablet kiosks, to design and implement an end-to-end self-service tablet kiosk solution for their enterprise.
Lilitab helped them deploy a custom-designed tablet kiosk system across more than 2000 locations nationwide – and the benefits were remarkable. Kiosk self-ordering at Panera helped their primary objective to reduce customer wait times – bringing waits to a minute or less – down from an average wait time of 8 minutes! Customers can now walk right in, choose to order at the register or utilize the self-service tablet kiosks to place their order with ease. The lobbies are clean, modern, inviting, no longer crowded – all factors that make guest feel at ease and comfortable.
The benefits of self-service ordering didn’t stop with improved ordering and wait times for Panera. The addition of self-service ordering had a direct bottom-line benefit for this fast-casual industry leader as well. Panera saw a remarkable 11.5% sales increase on a 2-year basis after implementing tablet kiosk ordering for their customers…
Whereas self-service/self-checkout kiosks were originally seen as something of a novelty, success stories like this combined with growing customer demand is making tablet kiosk solutions an absolute necessity for businesses across the gamut of restaurant types. According to a recent survey by IoT, 73% of shoppers PREFER retail self-service technology over traditional face-to-face checkout and ordering.
Lowering Overhead While Increasing Ticket Sales
Self-order/checkout helps to ensure a fast, convenient, accurate order for guests every time while reducing the overhead expense burden of employing multiple cashiers to keep things moving smoothly during high-volume ordering times. Tablet kiosks are always ready to help – freeing storefront employees to engage in other roles that help provide great user experiences to guests. The restaurant industry is evolving… and restaurateurs need to evolve with it in order to advance and meet the demands of the technology-savvy masses.
The additional benefits restaurants experience by offering self-service solutions to patrons are surprising. Whereas, the art of the upsell and supersizing customer orders was ingrained into the acumen of well-trained servers and checkout associates, tablets do this job better than their human counterparts. The data is clear: tablet ordering increases average ticket sales. Tablets can show enticing pictures and create a vehicle for upgrading orders that happens with a simple click, moving at the speed of impulse. Tablets also provide a degree of anonymity when ordering - if a customer wants to cheat on that diet a little or order the next size up, the kiosk doesn’t judge – making it easy to supersize that order and not feel bad about a little-self-indulgence. Customers ordering through self-service kiosks, on average, spend more and 60% of restaurant customers visit more often when kiosks are offered, according to research.
Evolving with the Industry
Within the last five years, tablet kiosks have rapidly evolved from novelty items to must-have in-store assets. New operating systems and apps have to keep up with industry trends and offer management solutions that help companies manage their technology and get the most out of each customer interaction. Lilitab is a global leader in tablet and touch screen kiosks with over 25 years in kiosk management solutions. We can help restaurants with the design and implementation of a custom system that will meet any industry need. From self-ordering/self-checkout kiosks with a broad range of mounts/hardware and custom styling to tabletop/countertop and server-side tablet solutions, Lilitab can help create a solution that works for your unique business and customers’ needs.
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