Before the pandemic, quick-service brands with drive-throughs achieved around 70 percent of their sales at the drive-through window and this increased to 90% following the pandemic and still remains high.
However, some operators still aren’t getting the most out of their drive-throughs, and in particular, if you’re using older technologies, then you could be missing an opportunity to help your brand grow. In addition, drive-throughs offer a significant customer-facing space – a space that influences the perception of your brand.
Here’s a look at Four areas where brands can step up their game and futureproof their drive-through sales.
Digital Signage
While digital menu boards have typically been perceived as more expensive than their static counterparts, their ability to allow you to change the menu instantaneously, gather data, and suggestively sell makes the technology well worth investing in. In addition, being able to control the price of items across the QSR estate is vital to brands when battling both inflation in the supply chain and competition. Investing in digital signage can cut out expenses like the constant need to reprint static menus, thus saving brands money in the long run. Significantly, the cost of digital signage has also now reached the point where it’s affordable.
Digital signage helps communicate with customers before they reach an ordering point. Customers several cars away from the ordering window can see the digital signage, which means the retailer has a captive audience. This achieves two things: it increases profits if you’re showing them higher ticket items or upselling, but it also increases the transaction speed because more customers will have their minds made up by the time they reach the counter.
Wayfinding
QSR brands should also consider all the different reasons people find themselves at the drive-through. For example, click and collect orders from the public or collections from the likes of Deliveroo or Just Eat and people on foot who are often looking for curbside pickup locations—things that were in the minority before the pandemic but have now increased in popularity.
Digital ordering systems paired with window-facing digital displays can help support curbside pickup. Window-facing displays can also enhance the curbside pickup experience by displaying promotional messages or other health and safety information as customers arrive and wait for their order.
The modern drive-through requires solutions to ensure customers know where they need to go, whether for the drive-through, curbside collections, or entering the main restaurant.
Wayfinding solutions might include directional signage, digital signage, or pavement markings communicating the correct pathway. In addition, these routes can be marked out to let that customer know where the queue is, and additional marketing can be implemented to take advantage of the opportunities along the way.
Order Confirmation Signs
Drive-throughs are not quiet, and sometimes it’s hard for staff to hear orders and for customers to hear staff, so providing an order confirmation screen that is easily visible for the driver ensures no mistakes are made. It can provide a quick overview of the order, the cost and any deals that could be added, such as sizing up or adding drinks. These screens can also notify the driver how long their food will take and which collection window they need to move on to. These screens are inexpensive and easy to install, but they offer an excellent opportunity to reduce mistakes and upsell products.
Touch Displays and Kiosks
Touch Displays and kiosks are another way brands can assist customers. These displays reduce employee interactions while retaining a high level of service. These displays can be positioned inside and outside restaurants, and when it comes to drive-throughs, they can still be utilised by linking to app ordering so those waiting in their cars can view menus through the app and place the order all via their mobile device.
“At Pioneer Group, we have the ability to create custom solutions,” Mark Childershouse says. ” From customised drive-throughs, interactive digital drive-through menu boards, digital signage, wayfinding solutions and communication systems. We are here to help.”
