How Video Intelligence is Elevating QSRs

Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) have become an integral part of modern life as customers’ dining priorities have steadily shifted towards quick convenience. In the United States, the largest QSR market, fast food is consumed by more than 100 million people across 200,000 outlets every day. At the same time, Asia Pacific is seeing the fastest growth among all fast-food markets across the world. Given QSR’s salience, the industry is projected to have a CAGR of 9.21% by 2027, making it an overall lucrative industry. However, just past the surface lies a major challenge. Despite promising projections, the QSR industry is still struggling to reach pre-pandemic levels 3 years later, with dine-in sales down by 12% and value sales increasing by a meager 3%. To make a full recovery, fast-food restaurants need to think beyond traditional strategies and tap into innovative technologies like video intelligence, AI-driven automation, and IoT integration to improve business processes, drive revenue, and elevate customer experiences.

The QSR Experience: Missing a Bit of Spice

According to a GlobalData report, the QSR industry is currently dealing with a series of behavioral changes customers have built over time, owing first to lockdowns and then to rising fast-food prices. In Q4 2023, 46% of surveyed consumers reported plans to reduce eating out over the next few days, and 11% reported stopping altogether.

In such a landscape, it doesn’t help that fast-food restaurants are dealing with obstacles like high wait times, shifting customer expectations, and growing concerns about health and safety.

On average, customers have to wait at least 5 minutes to receive their QSR orders. High wait times at a location deter customers from returning in the future, making businesses lose prospective consumers. Customers’ expectations are also evolving, with more and more expecting newer menu options and smoother ordering and pick-up experiences. Lastly, health and safety have become significant priorities for consumers. They expect cleanliness, food safety, and high hygiene standards more than ever before.

Amid such conditions, QSRs need to keep up and adapt constantly to ensure remarkable customer experiences that will keep bringing customers back for more.

Luckily, the trick to increasing QSR’s profitability can be as simple as leveraging existing camera systems to act as intelligent insight-gathering entities that support business functions with the power of video intelligence.

Wobot AI: A Value-Deal for QSRs

Wobot AI's video intelligence product transforms the footage of existing camera systems into real-time business insights for operational excellence. It empowers decision-makers with quantifiable data, which can help in the process of overseeing and examining various business functions to empower strategic decision-making within QSRs.

Once deployed, Wobot AI can improve QSR’s efficiency and operations in the following ways:

1. Accelerated Speed of Service

Wobot AI enables the management of queue lengths and reduction of customer wait times proactively to adapt to changes in customer footfall throughout the day. Managers can make decisions such as opening more order stations and redistributing tasks between front and back-house crews to meet operational demands effectively.

2. Optimal Staff-to-Customer Ratio

Users can analyze past insights to identify trends and patterns, optimizing shift management. By scheduling employees strategically based on daily, weekly, and monthly customer flow information, QSRs can maintain an optimal staff-to-customer ratio. This ensures that the best crew members are reserved for rush hours and busy days, providing consumers with quick and positive dining experiences.

3. High Employee Productivity

With Wobot AI's real-time analytics, managers can ensure employees are fully engaged, promptly attending to customers, and consistently upholding service standards. By identifying areas for improvement and providing instant feedback, Wobot AI enables targeted training that reinforces positive behaviors and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. This approach to workforce management motivates employees, ensures they are well-trained, and are utilized optimally, ultimately enhancing productivity and service quality.

4. Maintain Hygiene

Adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is crucial in the QSR industry. Wobot AI ensures that employees consistently follow hygiene SOPs, such as wearing gloves and hairnets, proper hand washing, and other safety measures. This enhances productivity and maintains high standards of quality and safety, which are crucial for customer satisfaction.

5. Monitor DriveThru Area and Curbside

Wobot AI doesn’t only improve dine-in/takeaway efficiency but also covers the QSR’s drivethru area and curbside to ensure peak productivity across the establishment. With real-time vehicle insights, QSRs can manage drivethru queues and wait times. It also tracks customer journeys, delivering in-depth insights about the time of entry, order placement, and customers’ movement along the queue to the pickup window.

Additionally, real-time data helps in making decisions about opening up additional lanes just-in-time, and speeds up taking and serving curbside orders, preventing customer dissatisfaction and improving the establishment's overall sales, service, and reputation.

6. Competitive Edge and Benchmarking

Lastly, a QSR backed by Wobot AI has a significant competitive edge against rival establishments. With consistent data insights, they can set and exceed benchmarks, transforming challenges into opportunities for unparalleled growth.

Conclusion

By giving precise insight into customer behavior with rich data, video intelligence is key to achieving growth and recovery in the QSR industry. Wobot AI is dedicated to supporting fast-food restaurants in making a resurgence with its flexible video analytics solution that can be tailored to fit every QSR business’s unique needs.