Odysii, a suggestive selling technology company, released new research yesterday indicating that increased exposure to targeted suggestions in quick service restaurants has a direct impact on increased ticket sales per customer.

Suggestive selling, sometimes called “up-selling,” or “add-on selling,” uses value-added suggestions to add items to customers’ original purchase.

Odysii analyzed global data from more than five million product suggestions from quick serves to derive best practices to maximize returns and ensure customer satisfaction. Findings indicate that the optimal number of product recommendations is four when they appear consecutively at five to ten second intervals.

Elad Halperin, vice president of global marketing at Odysii says, “Quick-service restaurants are one of the few industries to experience growth despite the current economic climate. Using automated targeted suggestive selling, versus displaying product offers in a loop, can help maximize sales opportunities by increasing ticket per customer, while boosting brand perception and enhancing the customer experience.”

Research findings show that, when product offerings are targeted, 45 percent of successful upsell purchases are the first ones displayed to the consumer on the screen, and 38 percent are the second recommended product. In addition, 33 percent of items selected are side orders that are more successful than offering larger-sized servings, beverages, or deserts.

Findings also show that typically a recommended product is selected if it is significantly lower in cost than the cost of the initial item or the meal ordered. Thirty-one percent of selected items are 12 or more percent lower than the cost of the original purchase, and 58 percent of selected items are 20 percent or lower in cost.