Digital display technology brings new opportunities in the Canadian chain foodservice industry

By: Mary Peterson, Vice President, IT & Enterprise Solutions, Samsung Electronics Canada

Canada’s foodservice industry is undergoing some of the most dramatic changes it has experienced to date, and digital display technology is increasingly central to its new reality. To remain relevant and meet consumer expectations, operators in the Canadian chain foodservice industry will need to increasingly rely on technologies like digital and interactive signage – both in front of customers and behind the counter.

Between lockdowns, shifts in consumer habits and disrupted supply chains, operators have had to make dramatic adjustments to how they do business — and digital signage technology has been a huge part of enabling positive change.

Digital signage technology has become a key tool to keep customers informed and satisfied in the quick service restaurant industry. Screens in targeted positions attract diners, display promotions and support hungry consumers to make quick and informed decisions about their next meal. Operators have adopted digital signage management systems and display technology to pre-sell and promote specials and overstocks on digital posters, raise awareness of the company’s community contributions and ties, recruit new full and part-time workers and brand the chain on dining area displays. Digital signage displays, such as the Samsung SMART Signage QBR/QMR Series, are now common at order counters and rapidly finding their way throughout restaurants — and outside with the Samsung Outdoor Display OHF Series, as curbside and drive-thru services see increased demand in 2020.

However, there has been a recent shift toward digital displays to address the business challenges introduced by COVID-19. When operators evolve from static, printed poster material to digital menus and promotions, they gain incredible flexibility. Updates take minutes — not days or weeks. And digital menus pay their way by influencing ordering decisions and removing the printing, shipping and labour costs of printed signs and posters. Restaurant operators who suddenly couldn’t open their dine-in areas had to rely entirely on drive-thru lanes and pickup windows to service their hungry customers. Drive-thrus are a big part of quick service restaurant chains, but amid health and safety restrictions, drive-thrus have come to represent a significant percentage of sales.

Outdoor digital menu boards in drive-thrus have recently seen a dramatic rise in popularity. The Samsung Outdoor Display OHF Series is bright enough to handle the glare and heat of the sun[1] and can both inform and pre-sell to customers as they approach the ordering position. Beyond drive-thru digital menu boards, outdoor signage also offers an effective, hard-to-miss way to communicate business changes, such as operating hours, dine-in reopening or other topical messaging. Outdoor displays from Samsung feature a slim depth (85 mm) design and the added convenience of an embedded power box. They also boast durability, flexibility and 24/7 performance, even in extreme temperatures[2].

Delivery has been a saviour for operators without drive-thrus. Ordering ahead has dramatically increased in popularity, with operators keeping their staff and customers safe by offering curbside pickup. Super-bright window displays visible from the parking lot, as well as outdoor-ready screens, act as beacons that guide diners. Tied to the brand’s online ordering platform, software drives messaging to the screens, letting motorists know their order status. With food delivery becoming hugely popular and multiple app-driven services fulfilling remote orders, we’re seeing more screens in meal preparation areas to dynamically track orders and drivers — like an airport displays flight gates and times.

Bright window displays also drive awareness of order-ahead options as operators are opting for Samsung’s unique double-sided displays. The OMN-D Series from Samsung is a dual display with screens on both sides, allowing restaurants to maximize messaging. The outward-facing screen handles ordering, while the inward-facing screen promotes special offers and helps recruit new staff members. At 3,000 nits, the screen facing the street is bright enough to win any battle with ambient or direct sunlight, ensuring messages are visible to viewers even on the brightest of days. The reverse side, facing into the store, doesn’t need that level of brightness, but at 1,000 nits will overpower any potential glare from restaurant lighting.

Content management software, such as Samsung’s MagicINFO, make it possible for owners and operators to fully view and control what’s happening on all of their displays, inside and outside. That toolset can be operated from a PC on-premise, or managers can control messaging for one or many locations from a distant office, or even from their home.

Understanding customer behaviours and patterns enables operators to directly influence what people see on menu and promotions screens inside stores and in drive-thru lanes. Data harvested from sales, loyalty and analytics systems can produce insights and directions that will then shape and trigger the content and even the layout of what’s on the digital signage screens in front of people. So, layouts and menu options are not only changeable by time of day and location, but can also be amended to reflect segmentation on diner types.

Making the right choice before screens and related technologies are ordered can go a long way toward ensuring success in sales, order sizes and transaction speeds. The key to QSR success will always be delicious food and swift, friendly service, but digital signage is playing an ever more important role in making diners aware of what’s cooking, simplifying order and pickup routines and ensuring the process is progressing smoothly and efficiently.

Digital displays have become central to how many QSRs do business, and in the COVID-19 era, benefits of premium displays are even more evident. For more information on Samsung Digital Display solutions, visit Samsung.com/ca/business or click here if you would like to connect with a Samsung Signage Specialist to assist you with your specific requirements.

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[1] The OHF Series displays feature innovative Magic Glass, TUV-certified image quality and an Auto Brightness sensor to improve picture quality and optimize message delivery for any viewer. The OHF series displays have been verified and validated by TUV Rheinland, a leading international certification organization.

[2] Each OHF Series display undergoes rigorous IP56 ingress defense testing* to ensure resistance to dust, heat, moisture and other environmental variables that can impede operations. IP ingress defense testing helps to determine a product’s susceptibility to solid particle (including dust) ingress and liquid (water) ingress. IP56: Protected from high-pressure water jets from any direction, limited ingress protection.