McDonalds, the number one fast food chain, has encountered some rough edges recently. In August, after the food safety scare in China, the fast-food chain suffered its worst comparable sales in over 10 years. With rising competitors in the fast food industry such as Chipotle and Panera, McDonalds’ brand seems outdated.

Photo via Economictimes

The chain is now testing out tablet-based ordering in several of its locations in the States. This eliminates human interaction and allows for the customers’ meal to be brought out to them without waiting near the counter. With the self-ordering system it gets rid of labour costs, which take up 20% of revenue. Workers demand higher minimum wage costs of 15$, almost double of the current federal minimum wage. With fewer workers, it gives the company flexibility to increase existing workers wages and maximize profitability. In this era where business decisions are made based on customer data bases, using tablets can increase the efficiency of data collections for companies to better track customer preferences and provide them with special marketing promotion and offers. While tablet ordering may not solve all the company’s problems such as the quality of food, the cutting edge technology could attract the younger generations with its efficient service. Automated ordering makes the ordering process more enjoyable and encourages more spending while helping boost performance of the company for the long run.

References

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/tablets-are-the-way-forward-for-mcdonalds-cm398335