This year’s QSR Drive-Thru Report felt like a confirmation of past trends as much as a roadmap to disruption. About three or so years ago, thanks to COVID, and also just the inevitable push toward progress, the KPIs at the center of success started to tilt. The way I would describe it is “food as fuel” was no longer the fill-up. Yes, speed mattered, but how customers viewed “fast” became more complicated and, in reality, more opportunistic for restaurants. You could now chase satisfaction through multiple channels. Was accurate service perceived as faster? Yes. What about friendlier? That, too. And then you have brands that dine on speed understanding they had a chance to get even quicker with better order-point technology and layouts that addressed friction at the hand-off.
So while recent Reports captured a flood of innovation, 2024 was closer to “optimization,” in my view. Solutions like OCBs and AI, outside order-takers, and “hospitality doors,” are now viable options rather than revolutions. Figuring out where to invest and how to deploy is where the conversation has gone. What do your customers expect, need, and want to be surprised by? That’s the story to unlock.
Here’s is a conversation from this year’s Report with Vans Nelson, senior vice president, operations innovation at Inspire Brands, the parent company of Jimmy John’s, Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Dunkin’, and Baskin-Robbins. Nelson, in particular, illuminated the present state of AI in a way that’s compelling beyond the headline. This is a look at innovation in real-time.
In the past few years of our QSR Drive-Thru Report, the KPIs of what makes a successful drive-thru appear to be changing, whether that’s speed accuracy, customer service, or some elevated version of all. What do you see in the drive-thru today regarding what matters most to consumers?
In an increasingly competitive, value-focused marketplace, order accuracy remains the most impactful KPI in measuring success in our drive-thrus. Speed of service is also essential, with consumers valuing quick turnaround times to minimize wait. Effective wayfinding also ensures smooth navigation through the drive-thru lanes, optimizing the overall guest experience.
Guests are seeking a distinct, personalized drive-thru experience. We work to meet their needs quickly, smoothly, efficiently, and with a digital-forward approach.
And how is Inspire Brands actively working to address and capture those opportunities?
What sets Inspire apart in our approach to innovation is that we’re developing solutions that are extensible across our six brands. As a shared service supporting all our brands, my team’s responsibility is to create a unified approach to site planning in the drive-thru, standardizing car stacks, wayfinding, and cockpit design. We collaborate with everyone from the construction, real estate, and restaurant team members to identify and capture opportunities across each touchpoint.
Having drive-thru innovation as a shared service also unlocks the ability to test and learn across each of our six brands, implementing best practices more efficiently and effectively than ever. Each of our brands has off-premises capabilities, and almost all of them have a drive-thru, so the solutions unlocked through cross-brand collaboration ensure everyone at Inspire succeeds at serving our guests well in the drive-thru and beyond.
Sharing knowledge across six brands also gives us access to a richer data set. This allows us to use feedback from guests about what is most important to them in the drive-thru across multiple dayparts and occasions. We can then take that consumer feedback and use AI to combine it with the restaurant’s historical sales and forecast demand. This data then gives our restaurant managers a better understanding of how we can enhance our interactions with guests and where technology can be deployed to provide restaurants with the data they need to best serve our guests.
What kind of role has technology continued to play in the evolution of the drive-thru? What are some examples of how Inspire is deploying innovation to improve the guest and employee experience?
Digital menu boards were a transformational change in drive-thru technology. They display live updates and order confirmations, which are important tools for ensuring order accuracy, improving the guest experience, and promoting transparency throughout the transaction. We continue to focus on enhancing our digital menu boards, which is essential for driving frequency.
Another way to ensure a positive guest experience is by providing team members with the tools they need to create a seamless guest experience. This is where automation, AI, and technology all come together to unlock team members’ capacity to deliver an accurate and fast order while spending more time interacting with guests. Some examples that we’re working on:
- Geofencing technology across our brands to better service our digital customers allows the restaurant to serve our loyalty and app members quickly and as soon as they enter our drive-thru.
- Order Ahead and 3PD Delivery Transporters can deliver orders directly to customers near but not in the drive-thru lane at select Dunkin’ locations. The two-way system supports food and beverages and allows Dunkin’ team members to focus on providing superior service.
In locations where we have tested these technologies, we saw an increase in the speed of service, accuracy, and guest satisfaction. Our team members are also responding positively, as this frees up their time to be redeployed toward other roles with higher guest touchpoints and can support continuous flow.
And how is the company evolving from an asset perspective at the drive-thru (i.e., double lanes, drive-thru-only stores, and so forth)?
As we optimize our restaurant assets, we have opened more drive-thru-only and digital-forward restaurant formats, most notably in urban areas and college campuses. These restaurants, especially in high-traffic locations, need to be equipped with essential design features such as dual drive-thru lanes and mobile pickup lanes to ensure smooth operations.
For high-traffic locations with a high propensity for drive-thru, we’ve also innovated our construction around small lot sizes, co-location opportunities, and our Universal Modular design.
Inspire’s drive-thru-only concepts have delivered further flexibility and profitability for operators and an enhanced experience for guests at those locations. For example, Dunkin’ has a concept of less than 1,000 square feet that can support multiple drive-thru lanes—a pickup lane for people who order in advance on the Dunkin’ app and a traditional lane where orders can be placed. These locations can also be outfitted with a walk-up window.
What are your thoughts on AI as a potential drive-thru solution?
AI will continue to play a critical role in the drive-thru moving forward. We think of AI as something other than a single moonshot idea that will solve all inefficiencies. We view AI as a tool that can work alongside our teams and existing technology to help drive efficiencies through more minor enhancements that the consumer doesn’t necessarily see—like sticky printers, optimized kitchen display units, and well-managed POS systems. These are all AI-driven technologies that will continue to support improvements in the drive-thru.
We are using AI vision systems to decrease wait times, enhance accuracy, support team members with inventory management, and engage with drive-thru guests during order taking to provide personalized suggestions to our guests.
If you had to describe the “drive-thru of the future,” where would you begin?
The drive-thru of the future aligns with our three goals: guest satisfaction, team member satisfaction, and restaurant profitability. Guests have a smooth, personalized experience enhanced by digital components and executed efficiently by our team members. Our kitchens are supported by smart, technology-enabled decision-making and require fewer manual tasks, allowing our team members to interact meaningfully with guests. Investing in our team members and delivering an exceptional guest experience is at the heart of our business.
