Appetize’s Self-Service Kiosks Demonstrate Mobile Payments Value in Food

Recently, the folks at Appetize dropped word our way about some recent testing they’d concluded that demonstrates a fact that we’ve been tracking for some time now: self-service kiosk systems (and the mobile payments mechanisms that commonly accompany such) and food go together like hot dogs and a basketball game. In fact, based on the early testing Appetize ran and filled us in on, the connection between self-service and food service could catch on huge in the coming months.

Appetize set up self-service kiosks throughout its customer base, including some new customers like the Cincinnati Museum Center, the AT&T Center, and Louisiana State University. After establishing said kiosks, it let them run for a while, and what it found was amazing.

Appetize discovered that the self-service kiosks generated up to a 40 percent increase in order size throughout the customer base. Additionally, upselling proved easier via kiosk than via human cashier; customers were 47 percent more likely to add an item on a kiosk than they were at a cashier’s prompting.

Results were fairly consistent across kiosks from multiple industries, though there were some deviations among individual locations. AT&T Center, for example, saw an 18 percent increase in average order size, while Louisiana State University posted just 16 percent. The Cincinnati Museum, meanwhile, saw orders increase 20 percent.

It’s not surprising to see average orders go up when it’s just a kiosk involved. After all, who among us has ever wanted to admit to another human being that, indeed, we would like the Double Cheesy Mister Boo-Boo Whammy Fries? Even if embarrassing food names aren’t part of the equation, most of us would likely rather people think that we engage in fast food only sparingly, and don’t stuff ourselves with grease burgers at any given opportunity. The kiosk, meanwhile, does not judge, so if we want a milkshake as a dipping sauce for our fries, so be it.

Regardless of the motive—ease of use, lack of judgment, or something else entirely—it’s clear that the kiosk system is catching on in food service. We’ve seen it in McDonald’s and other places, and with Appetize kicking in positive results, it likely won’t be long before this goes mainstream in eating out.