Restaurant mobile payments hit tipping point in 2017

Industry analysts estimate the volume of mobile payments in the restaurant industry grew 75 percent this year, Fodor said Wednesday in a First Data “Top 10 Trends in the Payments Industry” webinar.

“Future projections are massive: As much as 10 percent of all fast-food sales may be made via mobile in just a few years,” says Glenn Fodor, head of strategic intelligence at Atlanta-based First Data Corp.

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Order burgers with your face with this restaurant's facial recognition kiosk

Caliburger launched a new point-of-sale system on Tuesday that lets customers order using facial recognition technology. (This isn't the first time the American fast food chain has gone high tech — it previously welcomed a burger-flipping robot called Flippy.)

The first time customers order using the in-store kiosks, they’ll be prompted to attach their face to their account using NeoFace biometric facial recognition software.

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How augmented and virtual reality will reshape the food industry

One of the most tangible payoffs of AR/VR technology is using it for consistent and thorough employee training. The current process of developing training materials can not only be costly, but also vary in quality by team, store, or region. Many times, human resources face the conundrum of choosing between low-touch, high-efficiency (i.e. mass group workshops with the potential downside of low retention and lackluster individualized learning) or high-touch, high-cost (i.e. small group sessions with in-store, real-time training).

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Why 2018 Will Be The Year of Drive-Thru Innovation

Quick-service restaurants will look beyond technology to differentiate their drive thrus and improve the customer experience in the year ahead, as curbside pickup and delivery options pick up steam. This was one of the 2018 predictions for the industry from King-Casey, a well-known restaurant and retail consultancy. King-Casey principal Tom Cook also offered practical advice on how quick-serves could deal with the opportunities and challenges posed by the future.

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