Why self-service kiosks in restaurants can lead to customers ordering less food

When restaurant diners order at a self-service kiosk while a line forms behind them, they feel rushed, causing them to buy less and stick with familiar foods rather than seek out something new, according to a recent study we published.

We’ve found that businesses can reduce this pressure and increase customer satisfaction by redesigning their system so that a single line of waiting customers leads to multiple kiosks. This way, customers feel less rushed because they’re not the only ones holding up the line.

We are food and beverage marketing experts researching self-service technology. In recent years, many restaurants have adopted automated technology to streamline the menu ordering process and address staffing shortages. This ultimately gives customers more control over the order, but an unintended consequence of this seems to be that it also makes them feel more responsible for keeping the line behind them moving, leading to rushed orders.

To understand what’s going on here, we conducted three experiments where we asked hundreds of participants to imagine standing in line at a restaurant in different scenarios. We found that most people actually feel pressured to order quickly when there’s a line forming behind them. This led to hasty decisions and lower spending overall.

However, we also found that retailers can address this issue in two ways: by setting up a single queue serving multiple kiosks, or by displaying a pop-up message on the kiosk interface indicating that the business takes full responsibility for any service delays on menu orders.

Our research highlights the social dynamics at play in self-ordering, and we believe it provides valuable insights for designing a more effective and customer-friendly self-service process. It also makes restaurant owners aware of the potential unintended consequences of moving to automated technology.