When it comes to ordering a quick lunch at a fast food joint or grabbing pizza for dinner, convenience is everything. But at what cost?
According to a story in Business Insider, a new feature at many fast food restaurants is encouraging customers to order more, and in return, spend more money than they likely intended to.
If you've visited a fast food restaurant in the past year, you've likely seen a digital kiosk at some point. With their large, easy-to-use screens, the digital order kiosks are a tempting option. But they're also upselling machines, encouraging customers to upgrade and opt for add-ons at every turn. What may have started out as an order for a single burger can easily turn into a value meal with a little something from the dessert menu.
Andy Barish, an analyst at Jefferies, revealed to Business Insider that kiosks "100% of the time try to upsell you to a larger item or ask you if you want to add on French fries or chips and guacamole."
Additionally, many digital order kiosks also give you the option to provide your loyalty information, which then turns into personalized recommendations for add-ons to your order.
If you haven't spotted the kiosks at your local fast food eateries, it's only a matter of time. In fact, Burger King is reportedly preparing for a massive expansion after the success of a test run with the digital order kiosks. And Shake Shack is right behind Burger King—they now have kiosks in nearly all of their locations.
You can also add Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut to the growing list of restaurants adding digital order kiosks to their locations. If it saves labor costs and increases order volumes, more chains will use them. Just be aware while you're using them that they're intended to convince you to order more food.
