The famous golden arch is recognized around the world not only as a symbol of fast food, but also for technological change. McDonald’s — the world’s largest restaurant chain — has been an early pioneer of tech-driven innovation, from drive-thru to self-service kiosks. Today it is forging a path for fast food in the metaverse and beyond.
The Metaverse and Digital Transformation at McDonald’s
To kickstart its most recent digital boom, the company incubated its own digital information team in 2014, which has since grown from just three to over 130. Their task was to deploy technology to address the challenges around restaurant food, drive-thru service, and home (or anywhere else) delivery.
To achieve these goals, it is deploying a number of innovative artificial intelligence (AI), analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) use cases. It is also investing heavily in shifting employees away from jobs that can be easily automated, such as order taking, and toward areas of the business where they will get to use their uniquely human capabilities.
efficient order
McDonald’s began serving customers at drive-thru windows in 1976, and by the early 1980s, this high-speed, low-friction selling channel accounted for 50 percent of sales. During the pandemic, this increased to about 70 percent. Today, it’s still a highly popular way for customers to grab their beloved burgers and fries, and with delivery, has enabled the company to keep its revenue relatively stable even during the pandemic.
In 2019, it acquired Israeli AI startup Dynamic Yield for a reported $300 million, with the aim of building its technology into every aspect of its customer-facing operations. In the same year, it also acquired another AI startup, Apprente, specializing in voice technology.
Since then, McDonald’s has implemented AI-powered voice recognition ordering systems in some of its restaurants, which use synthetic human voices and natural language processing algorithms to take orders. It says that this has enabled the average customer to shave about a minute off the total time it takes to receive their order. In 2021, McDonald’s was able to sell technology it developed for automated voice-based ordering systems to IBM, generating more revenue for the restaurant giant.
Another initiative involved using image recognition algorithms to scan number plates and predict what customers were most likely to order based on previous occasions that vehicles had visited.
Inside its restaurants, it has also experimented with dynamic menu boards that use AI to tailor the items on offer in real time based on the time of day, weather, popular orders at the moment and how busy the restaurant is. make use of. Former CEO Steve Easterbrook told investors that the technology has successfully led to larger average order sizes in his restaurants.
Of course, a lot of the buzz in the fast-food industry today centers around app-based ordering. Like most global chains, McDonald’s has an app (depending on where in the world you are) that can be used to order food through any of its distribution channels – restaurant, delivery or takeaway . The app uses prediction and recommendation algorithms to decide what customers want to buy and place them prominently on the screen. These recommendations are based on past orders, global, national and local trends and weather. The app allows McDonald’s to collect a lot of data about who its customers are and how they spend their time and money (with customers’ permission). This allows restaurant chains to further tailor their products and services to meet their needs.
McDonald’s in the Metaverse
Metaverse is the term used to describe “next-level” virtual platforms where users will interact with each other – and with brands such as McDonald’s – in immersive, persistent environments. Many global brands are seeing this as the next big thing in both marketing and customer experience, and McDonald’s is no exception.
The chain has filed a patent application indicating that it is in the process of developing a “virtual restaurant”. As we spend more and more of our time online, McDonald’s is betting that just as teens today, tomorrow love to meet and hang out at burger restaurants, they’ll log into virtual reality (VR) counterparts where they can entertain friends. You can talk to the atmosphere, as well as order the delivery of food and drinks to their homes.
It also plans to sell virtual goods – this could take the form of branded clothing and other items that can be used to decorate avatars or customers’ virtual homes in the metaverse.
And its patent applications show that it is also interested in developing NFTs that would allow digital items created for the Metaverse to be unique, limited edition, or one-of-a-kind, indicating that it would be collectible or Might be interested in making personalized promotional items. It has already created and launched one such NFT, celebrating the return of the much-loved McRib to its menu in November 2021 – a sandwich that itself became an internet meme!
the supply chain
A third area where McDonald’s is introducing AI and other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies is driving efficiencies within its internal operations and supply chain.
Easterbrook, who was credited with starting the digital transformation initiative, said the ultimate objective was to combine all AI, data and analytics systems to create a complete intelligent business.
“As you begin to connect the predictive nature of customer demand through your stock levels in restaurants and kitchens, you can flex it back through the supply chain,” he said.
This will allow the company to more accurately predict broader trends in consumer behavior – such as increased demand for meat-free or healthy menu options – as well as the impact of global issues such as the ongoing disruption of food delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: www.forbes.com
