Technology

Self-order kiosk complements QSR’s ‘store of the future’

Since installation, more than a third of Red Rooster's customer orders are placed at self-order kiosks, which have improved customer convenience and store efficiency, as well as provided an excellent promotional tool.

Picture courtesy of Coates Group.

August 2, 2021

Red Rooster, a chicken focused QSR in Australia, has installed its first self-order kiosks as part of its "store of the future" makeover this year, a brand transformation which includes new store formats, branding and menu items.

The company, which operates more than 360 restaurants, selected the K2 Coates self-order kiosk with a customized user interface developed by Servy, a provider of a hospitality omnichannel platform.

Red Rooster introduced the kiosk in eight of its concept stores and plans to introduce it to 20 more stores in the near future.

Brad Martin of Craveable Brands cites the importance of kiosk design. Photo: LinkedIn.

The K2 Coates Kiosk for Red Rooster won the Best Kiosk ICX in the annual Interactive Customer Experience Association Elevate Awards. The judges noted that since installation, more than a third of customer orders are placed at the kiosks, which have improved customer convenience and store efficiency, as well as provided an excellent promotional tool.

"One of the huge benefits of the K2 was the relatively simple technology used, but also the ease of serviceability, a hugely important factor when dealing with a franchised network of stores," Brad Martin, head of digital at Craveable Brands Ltd., the Australia-based holding company that owns Red Rooster, told Kiosk Marketplace via email.

"A genuinely sleek and modern design that really was a cut above the rest in terms of visual appeal sealed the deal," Martin said.

Customer response strong

"The customer response to the kiosks has been nothing short of phenomenal," Martin said. "We're learning as we go to some extent, and one of those somewhat obvious learnings is placement is key, but we've had stores as high as 35% of in-store sales shifting to kiosks within weeks of launching, whilst others with more challenging footprints sit in the teens."

It's not just the regular customers using the kiosks, Martin added. Self-order kiosks also play a crucial part in helping the less frequent customers navigate the menu and finding a product that suits them.

"Another really interesting learning has been some data around more infrequent customers leaning towards kiosk use," he said. "This has been fantastic for us, as with our rebranding, improved food offering and related new technology offering, recruiting new customers to the brand is key."

The company plans to introduce the kiosks across a variety of formats, including dine-in restaurants, food courts and drive-thrus.

Compact for convenience

The QR code reader redeems loyalty points.

The K2 Kiosk is more compact that a standard self-order kiosk.

The lower "shelf" creates more privacy to customers during payment and loyalty redemption, Sam Dobell, an industrial designer at Coates, said in an email interview.

"We found that the lower 'shelf' provided an ergonomic and natural place for secondary interaction (payment and loyalty redemption), and that placing all internal components behind the screen made way for the kiosk to be more modular and therefore able to support a wider variety of mounting options — wall, single freestanding, double freestanding and counter," Dobell said.

The decision to incorporate a projected capacitive Elo touchscreen in the kiosk was made prior to the pandemic and was driven by the fact that the edge-to-edge glass and rounded corners allowed it to fit with the overall screen-focused design, said Dobell.

The kiosk also features a Verifone payment device able to take all EFTPOS (a private Australian debit card payment system) payments, including tap-and-pay, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay payments, said Tom Norris, Coates head of key accounts. The QR code reader is used for redeeming loyalty points, which can be applied as credit towards purchases.

Red Rooster has the option of adding microbial film to the projected capacitive Elo touchscreen, an option the company has not currently selected.

"The PCAP screen allows for the use of antimicrobial films, which has been an increased and added benefit following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic," Dobell said.

Product customization

Product customization also played a role in a rewarding customer experience, Martin said.

"Finally, we invested a lot of time and effort into product customization options and upsells, which is having a significant impact on average order value when compared to in-store, over-the-counter orders. This for us and our franchise partners is what will signal true success," he said.

While the pandemic created a host of challenges, it gave Red Rooster a good opportunity for a brand makeover and a more engaging customer experience.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic affected kiosks, click here.

Photos courtesy of Coates Group.