 Shake Shack recently made headlines with a tech-related success story: Its kiosks are now the brand’s largest and most profitable ordering channel – and by a long shot. During the company’s Q1 earnings call, Shake Shack CFO Katie Forgerty said guest orders made via kiosk are “a high teens percentage” larger than orders made in other in-store channels. Restaurant Dive reports that the brand had made enhancements to set the stage for stronger upsells – like being able to add an extra burger patty or bacon while ordering. At the same time, they managed to use their tech to reduce wait times, effectively generating larger checks in a smaller window of time. In your restaurant, is there opportunity for you to use your tech – whether it be kiosk, website, mobile app or something else – to deliver a more customized, premium experience to your guests? What does your data say about the ingredients and options your guests crave? Where might you insert options that not only appeal to guests, but which also boost the profitability of each check?
 Restaurant kiosks are labor savers, particularly if operators use their full range of applications. Beyond handling mobile ordering and payment, restaurants can use kiosks creatively to reinforce the brand experience, entertain guests and steer people toward particular menu items. According to Savor’s Restaurant Technology Ebook 2023, restaurants are using kiosks to prompt guests to sign up for their loyalty program and provide updates on rewards. Some are using kiosks as interactive consoles that help guests pass the time with games that include branded content. Kiosks can serve as autonomous beverage service stations, allowing guests to customize and pay for their drinks. You can also promote particular menu items on kiosks by featuring mouth-watering photos and descriptions of the profitable items you’re hoping to sell on a given day.
 If you can customize and personalize your menu for guests, you earn loyal guests, which are what operators need right now. Technology is making it easier for operators to give guests the choices they want on demand. Case in point: Taco Bell recently unveiled a feature called Veggie Mode on its self-order kiosks. It will allow users to push a button and immediately change the options on their screen to vegetarian ones. Ostensibly, it’s a feature that could be extended to eliminate any food to which a guest has an intolerance or dislike. Through your website, app and text/email promotions, are you using your available technology to help guests quickly see the options best suited to their tastes?
 Consumers don’t consider technology to be an eliminator of jobs but rather a means of improving convenience – and restaurants are investing in more of such customer-facing technology solutions this year. These were key tech-related takeaways from the National Restaurant Association’s latest state-of-the-industry report. When it comes to customer-facing tech, kiosks and other self-service technology still pay dividends. Their biggest benefit may be speed – by visibly reducing congestion and automating orders, they expedite the order process and shorten lines – but this technology is also winning consumers over for its ability to customize. The proof is in the payment: The convenience that kiosks provide can lead guests to spend 15 to 20 percent more per order, according to Pymts.com. #restauranttech
 Self-service kiosks remain an important vehicle for reaching and understanding consumers. Research from Tillster found that more than 65 percent of customers said they would visit a restaurant more often if it used self-service kiosks and 30 percent said they prefer to order via a kiosk instead of a cashier if the lines were of equal length. While kiosks have helped restaurant operators save on labor costs, watch for much more to come from them. As the CEO of the kiosk company TRAY told AgFunder, the value of kiosks in the years ahead will be more about taking customer personalization (and therefore service) to the next level. With a swipe of a credit card, a consumer will be able to pull up a personalized menu based on what is popular at the restaurant and what meals he has ordered at other restaurants.
 A study by IHL Services, Inc. found that 96 percent of consumers between the ages of 18 and 39 like to use kiosks for ordering food. Restaurant operators who consider kiosks to be the domain of large chains might keep an eye on Tapit, an emerging player that offers a customizable kiosk platform called SELFIT that is aimed at individual restaurants on up to small- to medium-size chains. The platform, which was on display at the recent National Restaurant Association Show, aims to help restaurants customize menus and integrate promotions, lifting check totals in the process. The company’s technology is currently used in the Israeli sandwich chain New Deli, where the head of operations credited the kiosks for boosting individual sales by 30 percent and branch sales by 13 percent. National Restaurant News reports that Tapit’s kiosk platform will have its first U.S. rollout at Duchess Restaurants in Connecticut.
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