The Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry sits on a goldmine of data, yet many brands are only scratching the surface with their analytics.
Authors: Martin Fiser, Field CTO at Keboola, and Martin Lepka, Industry Solutions at Keboola
The Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry sits on a goldmine of data, yet many brands are only scratching the surface with their analytics. Locked within siloed Point-of-Sale (POS) systems across individual franchisees, this data remains underutilized rather than being put to work.
This article explores the current landscape of data utilization in the QSR sector, highlighting challenges like limited data expertise and low AI adoption, while presenting a vision for harnessing data to drive growth and competitiveness.
The Quick Service Restaurant industry is uniquely positioned to leverage data to both reduce costs and increase sales. Every location generates a continuous stream of customer data, providing a range of opportunities: using sales data to support informed pricing decisions, evaluating loyalty programs and marketing strategies, and assessing employee performance metrics to help deliver excellent customer service.
Despite having access to data from operational technology such as POS systems, kiosks, and back-of-house systems, many QSR brands fail to realize this potential. Why? The industry operates with razor-thin margins, and labor costs consume most of the budget, while growth plans for new stores require significant focus. This leaves limited capacity for building robust data teams and tech stacks.
The challenges don’t stop there. Hiring and retaining senior data engineers and data scientists is difficult, and data initiatives often take a back seat to large technology projects like POS migrations, self-service kiosk rollouts, and drive-thru technology. Yet the potential in QSR data is vast—and unlocking it hinges on a few guiding principles.
Many QSR brands feel the need to build data platforms from scratch. This is unnecessary—especially in the QSR space, where data is not the primary business domain. Instead, consider using modern tools that enable you to utilize data in its simplest form. Platforms based on cloud-native technologies allow businesses to scale while minimizing upfront investment, offering the flexibility needed for data-driven decisions without the high setup cost. According to the 2024 State of Digital for QSR & Fast Casual Brands report, 65% of QSRs are transitioning to unified, next-generation platforms to seamlessly integrate data and reduce infrastructure complexity. [1]
There is nothing more frustrating and energy draining than manually repeating the same mundane tasks day after day, month after month, burning thousands of work hours on something modern technologies could accomplish at a fraction of the cost. While mapping the process and building it into a platform may take some time, the investment will pay off in the long run.
In fact, 44% of QSRs plan to add self-service kiosks as a new ordering channel in 2024, reducing manual workload and increasing efficiency. [2]
Most QSR employees are not data scientists, nor should they be. Data access should be as approachable as possible, allowing all employees to leverage it without extensive training. This accessibility is key to enabling data-driven decisions without requiring complex IT skills. The focus should be on solutions that cater to business users, not just technical experts. The 2024 State of Digital report indicates that brands are increasingly prioritizing user-friendly systems, with over 70% of QSRs emphasizing tools that empower non-technical users to make effective use of data. [3]
Instead of piecing together numerous Software as a Service (SaaS) tools—which only increases complexity—QSRs should look for scalable platforms that grow with them and allow new initiatives to be executed quickly. The report also shows that 65% of respondents are either implementing or planning to implement unified platforms that consolidate data, improving decision-making and scalability. [4]
QSRs are not IT companies. Dedicating a team to maintaining complex data infrastructure detracts from core operations. Low-maintenance, cloud-based solutions let you focus on executing your strategy rather than managing the underlying technology. Seek platforms that abstract the IT complexity away and offer a truly “automated infrastructure at scale” experience. According to the report, 65% of QSRs are looking for low-maintenance, cloud-native platforms to ensure their technology stack doesn’t become a burden. [5]
Data has the power to transform every aspect of QSR operations, from understanding customers better to optimizing operations and enhancing service quality. Here’s how data can drive growth:
Typical data use cases: Customer feedback, menu mix, customer 360 insights.
Typical data use cases: QA analytics, customer feedback relation to QA observations, labor optimization, turnover and employee retention, inventory management, purchasing optimization, wastage, adherence to recipes, margin optimization, predictive maintenance.
Typical data use cases: Personalized offers, menu mix, adding contextual data (location, time, weather, social data, etc.)
Typical data use cases: Restaurant scorecards, standardized reporting, smart agents.
Typical data use cases: Customer satisfaction monitoring, customer feedback analysis.
A unified data platform is the missing piece in the QSR success puzzle. It enables teams to do what they do best: analysis, forecasting, and impactful decision-making without worrying about data hurdles.
Now is the time for QSR leaders to reassess their data strategies and pivot towards self-service, turning data into a competitive advantage. The journey to self-service doesn’t need to be daunting; a series of small, strategic steps is enough to set you on the right track and lead to substantial business impact.
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References:
[1],[2],[3],[4],[5] 5th Annual State of Digital for QSR and Fast-Casual Brands, Digital Report by QU Beyond, 2024
