As a strong player in the QSR industry, it takes a lot of work to introduce an innovation or growth plan. It may work well with customers, or it may not. As fast food becomes more prominent, there are many questions that pop up. What are the current trends, who are your competitors, which is the emerging brand, and where is your position in the market compared to your competitors? Based on that, you can outline a new customer experience strategy or improve the current one.
Tracking customer insights is a great way to figure this out. As per the recent study conducted by Clootrack on the customer experience in the QSR industry, we found the rising trends and the best practices every QSR brand knows to grow their brand in this unprecedented era of the QSR market.
Top 7 Emerging Trends of the QSR Industry
There are mainly 7 emerging trends in the QSR industry as per the recent customer insights analysis.
1. Fast and Robust Mobile Apps
Since online ordering and home delivery are the new normal in the mode of the eating system, mobile app performance has become a significant aspect in deciding the overall customer experience in the QSR industry.
All customers like to place an order with an app that is glitch-free, has smooth performance, is easy to navigate, is easy to order, and has no hanging.
People might probably be hungry when they order, so that a poor-performing app can frustrate them even more, and they leave your restaurant for some other convenient option.
A customer stated that -
"i cannot make any orders at all using the mobile ordering as the "add to cart" button seems to have permanently been replaced by a "check availability" button instead, still also needs an expanded and edited drink menu to include ice options, and chocolate milk in the breakfast menu."
Hence, partner with a good mobile app developer and ensure that your app is robust, constantly updated, works well without glitches, and includes all functions at customers' fingertips.
2. Preference for Drive-thru Over Dine-In
Drive-thru is a very convenient option for busy people. And, considering the safety and social distancing concerns during the pandemic, the drive-thru was a perfect solution as people can order and get food from their vehicles.
As per the study, just 6% of customers talked about dine-in since, during the last two years, customers preferred off-premise dining, so it’s pretty convincing that customers don’t pick dine-in these days.
But, the drive-thru has reached its peak. 90% of customers talked about drive-thru, which means they mostly prefer drive-thru over other options like dine-in, store pickup, and carry-out orders.
3. Faster Delivery
We already discussed that customers choose the home delivery option since they can eat whenever they want in their comfort place. But just delivering the food doesn’t make their experience delightful. Any small mistakes or dissatisfaction in the delivery and delivered food can collapse the customer experience you have been trying to build all these years!
Customers are clear about the delivery time; they want it as soon as possible, hot, crisp, fresh, and in an intact package. Sometimes it is challenging to keep the food warm and fresh if the delivery location is too long from the physical store, or road traffic can also ruin the experience of fresh food.
Your R&D team should brainstorm how to keep the food warm and fresh even though the delivery time is delayed.
4. Exciting Promotions and Deals
Promotions and deals influence customers' buying decisions. They tend to buy more than usual if they see more offers, discounts, and promotions. These deals and offers are mostly executed through delivery apps and digital ordering platforms. Combos, group meals, and 2-in-1 deals are the customers' favorite offers.
5. Healthier Fast Food
Fast food has become a permanent part of many people’s lives, and many studies revealed that many health concerns come with fast food. But, as people’s lifestyle changes, QSRs also take the initiative to adapt to their requirements.
Nowadays, people are looking for healthier versions of their fast food. And many people follow different diets like vegan, gluten-free, and vegetarian options since in many restaurant management systems, they understand this niche and alter their products and create the versions customers want.
6. Accurate Orders
Getting the orders canceled by the restaurant side is one of the main issues customers raise. This makes customers have a negative impression of the QSR brand, and they immediately switch to the next alternative.
Missing items in the order also is a big problem reported by customers. This happens especially when they order more than 1 item or a combination of multiple items in a single order.
A customer said - "how is it possible that in such a small order there are 4 missing products a third of the order this is a robbery if every customer who stops by the drive true is missing one thing from his order"
Ensure you include all products while packing an order and train your delivery staff to hand the orders intact. Also, do not take orders in the first place if you can’t deliver them properly due to any inconvenience. This will help to reduce a lot of negative customer experiences.
7. Multiple Payment Options
Since most of the ordering is online, the payment is also made online. Since this part deals with money, any inconvenience or interruption in the process leads customers to lose trust in you.
Check a customer review - "never works when i try to place my order, it either never goes through or it tells me that i have the wrong card info, or the location doesn't take mobile orders. please fix! there have been a few times I have tried to use this but i cannot."
Customers prefer to have multiple payment options, especially their favorite ones in the mobile app.
As per the studies, Apple Pay, Paypal, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay are US customers' most popular and preferred payments.
So make sure the payment methods you integrated into your app work well. Also the payment options you provide in your physical store or drive-thru hubs work fine.
3 Important QSR Growth Strategies
Making customers more convenient to order, get food, and eat are the main points brands need to keep in mind. Incorporating the latest technology and innovation will help here. There are a few points QSR brands need to keep in mind to offer exceptional customer experience.
1. Invest in Digital Technology
Engaging customers in a personalized way with digital technology incorporation is essential. People want smooth and efficient ordering apps without any glitches and errors, they need the food to be hot and fresh irrespective of how long you take to deliver or how much distance you ride to delivery, and they need the payment options they prefer as people like to pay with the methods, they are used to and comfortable with. Also, sending personalized offers and deals on ordering apps or other platforms will take the customer experience to the next level.
2. Tap into Customer Data, and Insights
Always keep an eye on your customer journey and behavior. Then only you can make them better, eliminate the friction and pain points and offer what customers expect from you. The trends discussed in this article are based on customer insights analysis in the past 2 years. Customers and their choices may change after a while. To keep your offerings updated according to their changing requirements, continuously tap into customer insights and alter your strategies to resonate with the needs.
3. Make it Fast, Easy & Convenient
Trends will come and go, but the primary and all-time customer experience drivers are fast service, effortless buying and consumption, and the overall convenience of doing business with a brand. There are many restaurants in the world. But what differentiates QSRs from them is they offer quick, seamless, and good food most conveniently.
To Sum Up,
QSRs are indeed one of the growing and established industries since there are many consumers for QSR brands. Customers expect quick, convenient, and fresh food delivery from a QSR brand. This includes the performance of your ordering app, delivery mode, the mode of eating options you provide, and the offers and deals you give.
If you understand the customer requirements, how they want and what they want, you can offer the right experience they are looking for, giving you a competitive edge. So always keep an eye on the market and customers with real-time customer insights to track small and significant changes in customer trends, customer likes, dislikes, and choices.
Read the detailed report - Data-Driven Customer Experience Insights From the QSR Industry.
Watch the latest episode of the CX See Why show on customer experience in the QSR industry.