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Future Industry Drivers of QSR

Kenneth Hallwachs

Oct 30, 2023

Adapting to the Future: How the QSR Industry Embraced Innovation Amidst the Pandemic

The QSR industry had to adapt at an unprecedented pace due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and many restaurants were forced to complete projects planned to be completed in 5-10 years (Fox, 2022). Big players like McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A adapted quickly with pilots they have been running, like delivery and drive-thru order taking, respectively. As the industry will see a lasting effect of consumer change, innovation is essential to improve sales and profit margins. The upside of the pandemic is that it forced brands to invest billions of dollars in research to adapt to the future of QSRs. Technology drives the focus today on “functional changes in systems, design, and footprint” (Fox, 2022). Brands have an opportunity to focus on two main objects: innovating to change consumer behavior and technology changing the behavior that impacts restaurants.


To change consumer behavior, QSRs have an opportunity to utilize technology that was not accepted by many consumers but was forced to use during the pandemic. Examples are the QR code, delivery, and app ordering that have driven sales for brands like Chipotle. Self-order kiosks are growing nationwide as they eliminate the need for a cashier and provide labor savings for years to come. Panera was at the forefront in 2016, as they introduced the kiosk that took over almost all in-store ordering today. Other brands are following suit with the technology. Grandview Research concluded that 65% of consumers prefer to visit a restaurant with a self-service kiosk (Kite-Powell, 2021). The technology is expanding in all industries, like grocery stores and stadiums. Grubbrr CEO Sam Zietz concludes that transactions increase by 12-20% as guests can see and click the item over the cashier interaction (Kite-Powell, 2021). McDonald’s heavily invests in kiosk technology as labor is increasingly expensive and harder to find.


Online ordering took over the QSR industry when locations had to shut their doors for in-store guests. The trend has continued to grow as it makes up over one-third of sales for the industry, and delivery appears to be an essential part of the business (QSR Web, 2022). Online ordering was an insignificant way for QSRs to capture revenue before the pandemic. As the world shut down, consumers changed their behavior, impacting restaurants instantly. Brands had to adapt quickly to keep their loyal guest, as brands are still building out the future QSR to meet the consumers in its changed behavior. Digital orders are up 113% over pre-pandemic levels and appear not to slow down as brands are building their first pickup-only locations (QSR Web, 2022). The so-called “restaurants of the future” are concepts by QSRs to capture the changes in consumer behavior, like adding mobile order pickup lanes. Society is also changing as baby boomers start declining in population, and Gen Z is taking over consumer spending. Deloitte conducted a study of guest behavior and preferences, showing that only 4.9% of Gen Z prefer cleanliness, and 55% of all participants would pay 10-15% more for higher safety and cleanliness standards (Klein, 2021). In addition, the mentioned change in delivery frequency shows growing demand. Sixty-one percent of consumers order delivery at least once a week, a 43% increase from two years ago, explains Deloitte (Klein, 2021).



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