McDonald’s Plans to Make Drive-Thru Services Faster

Fast-food chain McDonald’s is planning to improve the speed of its drive-thru services. In 2020, McDonald’s reported that drive-thru orders made up 70% of its sales during the pandemic. In light of this, McDonald's head of digital customer engagement, Lucy Brady, said the company wants to improve its drive-thru services to decrease customer waiting time. The fast-food chain unveiled new drive-thru ideas during a virtual investors update meeting held recently. These ideas include a new McDonald’s app, special pick-up points to collect orders, and restaurants exclusively for take-outs and deliveries. The company said that the new concepts could be tested within 2021 in 10,000 branches. According to Mason Smoot, McDonald’s USA chief restaurant officer, the company plans to open side-by-side order lanes and three drive-thru windows so that the service can cater to more than one customer simultaneously. The company has also invested in AI that can make taking orders a contactless procedure. Aside from these, the fast-food chain is considering introducing technology such as a conveyor belt where customers can pick up their orders. McDonald’s is hopeful that its proposed concepts will help make drive-thru more convenient for its patrons. The company believes that once its concepts and technology are launched, it will be able to deliver swifter and more seamless drive-thru services than its competitors. In addition to drive-thru improvements, McDonald’s is also planning to get new equipment such as digital menu boards that display recommendations based on the weather and what products are trending. McDonald’s will also rebrand its packaging for a more consistent look.