Digital signage is fast becoming an industry standard in restaurants, with quick service and fast casual eateries taking the lead, but bars and fine dining establishments quickly joining the trend. The vibrant and dynamic displays have many advantages for both restaurant owners and patrons by improving customer communications and creating a livelier atmosphere.
Menus
Static menu boards have to be replaced each time the menu changes and can’t be updated on the fly. With digital signage, restaurants can immediately update a menu including being able to indicate when items are out of stock. They can also display and update nutrient information. Over the long term, this saves money as design and printing costs for new menu boards is eliminated.
Wait Times
By utilizing digital signage to display entertaining content such as sports, trivia, news and even social media, patrons can remain engaged as they wait in line or for their meal to arrive. By displaying appealing content, restaurants can decrease the perceived wait time and improve the overall customer experience.
Drive thrus
Because of its capability to easily change content and withstand harsh weather conditions, restaurants can leverage digital menu boards for marketing and advertising not only indoors but also outdoors. QSR estimates that about 60 to 70 percent of fast food sales arrive via drive-thru windows. Beefing up the efficiency and experience of the outdoor lane can be a driving factor of sales for the fast food restaurant and some chains are taking note. Long John Silver’s is upgrading 400 of its drive thrus with three 55-inch outdoor digital displays, each featuring HD audio and a platform to improve the ordering experience.
Promotion, Brand Awareness and Third Party Advertising
By displaying interesting and pertinent content such as food preparation methods, organic food sources, and other facts, restaurants can build brand awareness and customer loyalty. Promoting the latest specials, discounts and new menu items will also get the word out and boost sales. While ads from relevant third party vendors can also add revenue.
Innovation
Digital signage provides a new technology that can be interactive as well and the sky’s the limit when discovering new ways to keep customers coming back for more. Pizza Hut has recently introduced interactive tabletops, allowing customers to create their own custom pizzas at their table and then place the order. It’s never been more fun to order your meal and eliminates human error when a server misunderstands or wrongly enters an order.
Among the many benefits that digital signage offers restaurants are increased sales, enhanced guest satisfaction, and the elimination of printing, cleaning and storing static menus, but with technology advancing at a rapid pace, the possibilities and benefits are truly endless.
