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Contactless QSR Menu

Global Burger Chain Improves Sales with Contactless Touch Menus

Contactless self-service menus improve hygiene, but can also contribute to other benefits such as increased order value.

Background

Like many industries, the global pandemic, resulting from the spread of COVID-19, has had a major impact on the hospitality industry, and quite possibly will have an everlasting effect on the way we perceive our dining experiences in future. Consumers now have a heightened awareness of hygiene and restaurants have an even greater responsibility to ensure safe dining experiences for both employees and their guests.

Restaurants have been forced to innovate to keep business prosperous and competitive. At the same time, digital adoption by consumers has seen rapid acceleration during the pandemic, so while change is necessary, many forward-thinking businesses have seen this as an opportunity to creatively transform their digital offerings and solutions - even in bricks-and-mortar businesses like restaurants, bars and quick service restaurants (QSR).

One such forward-thinking QSR, a global burger chain with thousands of restaurants around the world, recently embraced the challenge and trialed contactless self-service kiosks at several of their restaurants in Paris, France. They chose the Merim Groupe AIR-CLICK solution, which is powered by Neonode technology, to provide a complete contactless ordering experience for their customers.

Challenge

Across Europe, and indeed the world, the pandemic had a major impact on the restaurant's operations, with some outlets being temporarily closed in certain countries, such as France, and other having limited operations and customer capacity. Re-imposed lockdowns and curfews continue to hinder business.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the burger chain wanted to heighten hygiene standards with the adoption of contactless procedures. This included transforming the self-ordering kiosks to remove the need for physical contact with displays that might contain pathogens.

They sought a cost-effective contactless kiosk solution which would not only provide a safe customer experience but was also fast enough to not slow the time to order.

Solution

AIR-CLICK, a contactless self-ordering solution developed by Merim Groupe, a company who empowers points of sales through digital innovation, was chosen. AIR-CLICK is a standard plug-and play solution that could easily be retrofitted to existing kiosks, removing the need to replace expensive equipment while simultaneously eliminating the need to invest in new GUI updates for the display.

In developing the AIR-CLICK solution, Merim had the ambition to create the best possible solution for an accurate and responsive contactless touch experience. During the development phase, different technologies were considered such as camera-based solutions, but these were dismissed partly due to implications with GDPR compliancy in Europe. Infrared light was pegged as a better option, where touch and gestures could be detected with light reflections.

This led to the selection and integration of Neonode’s Touch Sensor Module. The laser light-based touch sensor is based on infrared light reflections and provides fast, precise and reactive contactless touch and gesture recognition. In addition, it is eye-safe under all operating conditions.

Nicolas Appert, CEO of Merim Groupe said: “Our AIR-CLICK solution is an attractive proposition for businesses, as it enables converting even inert, non-touch enabled, screens into contactless touch systems. Combining the AIR-CLICK solution with Merim’s contactless payment systems creates a 100% contactless ordering experience for customers.”

Results

Retrofitting AIR-CLICK to the existing self-service menus took around 15 minutes per kiosk and the results so far have been excellent:

  • Initial results suggest that order value on self-service contactless kiosks are higher than those from traditional touch solutions.

  • Time to order is just as fast after the introduction of the new touchless technology.

  • The solution is fully GDPR compliant

  • Consumers who wish to do so can still touch the kiosk displays, making customer adoption seamless

About Merim Groupe

During the last 20 years, the Merim Groupe has gathered skills and technical know-how to bring innovation and to support their customers in their digitalization processes. Merim helps brands to connect with their customers and optimize the user experience through the entire point of sale. In close collaboration with operational teams and marketing staff from partners such as Neonode, Merim’s design office, R&D resources and developers have made it possible to turn smart ideas into real products.

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