It feels like we’ve been harping on about COVID a lot lately, but you can’t deny the amount of change it has forced on the quick service restaurant industry. QSRs have moved to contactless payments, embraced AI technology and suffered significant labour shortages over the last 18 months.

We all know that over the last few years there has been a general move away from on-premises sales, with a big push towards the online realm and digital transactions. While this may have been ideal during the height of the pandemic, many restaurants are figuring out ways to get customers back through the door, and facial recognition technology could be the key to doing just that.

The saying, “it costs less to keep a customer than obtain a new one” has never been truer than right now. Facial recognition technology offers the benefit of learning more about your current consumers, allowing you to personalise the customer experience and keep them coming back. This could be through creating customer profiles for customers who opt-in, allowing FOH staff to access this information and greet customers by name – a nice personal touch that wouldn’t be lost on the customer.

Additionally, facial recognition technology could provide important insight into how customers really feel about their food, by analysing their emotional response. Information like this will provide management with real-time data, allowing them to swiftly adjust their operations and service.

While this type of technology may be far off in terms of implementation in Australian QSRs, it provides us with an understanding of what might be just around the corner.

If you’re looking to upgrade your restaurant equipment and need help financing it, give our friendly brokers a call on 03 9420 0011.