McDonald’s is to deploy touchscreen kiosks across its 7000 European outlets, in a ringing endorsement of the role that screen media can play in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry.

The fast-food giant, which serves 2m customers a day in Europe, hopes to shave three to four seconds off each of their transactions by allowing them to order their burgers on-screen, as well as improve its data on dining habits.

“Ordering food has not changed for 30 or 40 years,” said Steve Easterbrook, president of McDonald’s Europe, in a published interview.

His company has also become the first major fast-food chain to commit to introducing contactless payments. In the UK, for example, customers will be able to pay simply by swiping a debit card.

However, McDonald’s Europe – which is also refurbishing restaurants, revamping menus and extending opening hours in a bid to renew its consumer appeal – is not simply discarding staff in favour of technology. In its 1200 UK locations, for example, it is also mooting the introduction of waiters with handheld terminals to take additional orders from customers once they are seated with their first round of food.

Screen media’s progress in the QSR sector has been stuttering. Although many major names have experimented with place-based screens in their restaurants –  including McDonald’s in a number of territories, as well as its arch-rival Burger King – the kind of global chain-wide rollout that would make LCDs as integral a part of the experience as fries has yet to happen.

However, interest in digital menu boards has grown steadily, thanks to their easy updating and day-parting capability. McDonald’s is now taking that a step further by adding a transactional element.

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