5 reasons to use digital menu boards for restaurants

You may think that digital signs and digital menus are a trend, or are a novelty, but after reading this article, you will see how all these things will soon be a necessity for modern restaurants. They are not a fad, like curly fries, these pieces of technology are fast becoming staples of the modern food and hospitality industry. Lessons in restaurant digital signage software are even being taught in hospitality and catering college courses.

1 – McDonalds is doing it

Honestly, it is going down a storm in McDonalds and they were doing it long before things like pandemics and social distancing was a thing. It is honestly ridiculous how McDonalds didn’t receive more coverage for what they have done in their restaurants. 

Have you any idea how frustrating it used to be to walk into one of McDonald’s more busier restaurants, queue up to speak to the greasy teen behind the counter while she palm fists the pictures on till? To then wait in a huddle with a mixture of hungry workers and screaming kids, to then be told a number and having to race to the counter before the local homeless man steals your dinner. 

Now, you make your order at one of the pillars with the digital signs, or via one of the tablet devices on the desks (depends on what type your branch has). You pay at the table or pillar, and you are given a ticket. You sit at your table, or in the waiting area, and you collect your food when your number is shown on the digital sign above the handing-out-food desk. Digital signs above the desks, digital signs showing you the menu, and digital signs/tablets that allow you to order your food without having to queue up or talk to an underpaid server. McDonalds should be given a medal for their innovative use of digital signs and digital menu boards.

2 – It bridges the gap between online and offline

The online world has infested so many places that it is time for restaurants and eateries to catch up. You can buy train tickets online, you can buy groceries and takeaway online, and you can buy most types of insurance online without ever leaving your home. Digital menus can be online and offline, but wherever they are, they help bridge the gap between the online and offline. People are sat in your restaurant, but they are seeing your menu as if it were an online store or online grocery/takeaway establishment.

3 – You can add more information into digital menus

You can add everything from allergies to where the food came from. You can tell people if your eggs are locally sourced, or if your food uses trans fats. Plus, you can add things like videos that show your food, or at the very least, you could show your food on photos from difficult angles. You don’t need to rely on just having text to describe your meals, you can show people exactly what they are getting. Plus, you can give them a choice, they can look at your text menu, and if they like something, they can tap on the item to bring up its image, calorie count, etc.

4 – Change menus according to stock levels

There are some pretty compelling reasons to go digital in this article alone, but this is perhaps one of the biggest quality of life changes you could make. We have all been in restaurants and asked for items that are no longer on the menu because that meal has been bought up. With a digital menu, you only show people things that you actually have in stock. Better still, if you have things like fish of the day, you can mark on the menus when that meal has ran out of stock.

5 – Social distancing could be here to stay

We are living in a funky time where even the mention of a new or variant virus sends the media into a frenzy. Companies (other than Amazon and Hollywood) really don’t want to have to turn customers away at the door. Even if for insurance purposes, companies are going to find new ways to create easy social distancing. Digital menu boards are a fair way to do that, especially in places where people make their orders at the counter rather than having a waiter/waitress come over. Digital signs and digital menus are going to become more common as we enter the new era of germaphobia.