Subway Brings in Touchscreen Kiosks to Reverse Drop in Sales

I’m fond of Subway, as a rule. Almost a day’s worth of veggies on one footlong sub, plus all the great tastes that go into it…that’s not exactly bad news. The subs can get a mite pricey, though, and Subway’s been seeing something of a sales slump in recent months. In a bid to turn that around, the company is turning to touchscreen kiosks.

While Subway’s had its share of troubles lately—issues with its bread and with its spokesman not least among them, not to mention the ever-climbing price of a sub—technology has often proven a bit lacking. So instead of announcing the ingredients to the sandwich artist behind the counter, Subway’s new touchscreen systems allow users to just punch a few squares to build a sandwich.

That’s not all that’s going in, of course; it’s also setting up a mobile app similar, at last report, to the one that Panera Bread brought out back in 2014. Digital menu boards and free Wi-Fi in at least some locations are also on tap.

With a growing number of restaurants starting to turn to the “healthy food” concept, Subway’s dominance on that front in the fast-food market is starting to fade. A 1.7 percent drop in sales for 2016 drove that point home, and since this was the third consecutive year of losses as reports noted, this could be the time that Subway should look at serious turnaround.

I’m fond of Subway, as it’s fast and a nice departure from the burger-and-fry combination that so dominates the fast food market. Certainly, order ahead options wouldn’t be a bad thing here, as the whole Subway concept ends with “pick up your food in one place and go” anyway. That being said, an app that’s old by the competition’s standards and one that doesn’t fix the whole problem—why am I still going into a Subway to pick up food, anyway? Is the drive-thru not available?—might not fix Subway’s sales slump. Steadily climbing prices aren’t helping either, like as not.

Still, Subway’s making progress. That’s good news for all of us who like a full-length sandwich with plenty of vegetables made while we watch. This may not fix everything, but it should at least slow the decline and maybe even reverse it.