According to recent data from Summit Research Associates Inc., restaurant and foodservice deployments represent only 3 percent of the nearly $600 million global kiosk market.
It's an environment that would seem to make perfect sense for kiosks, but industry experts say the complications of integrating the technology into a restaurant's operations and a lack of consumer and employee education have historically hindered the growth of self-order applications.
But companies like Detriot, Mich.-based NEXTEP SYSTEMS and San Diego-based EMN8 are working to change that. Both kiosk providers have made self-order solutions their primary business and focused their attention on the quick-service restaraunt, or QSR, segment. EMN8 has made headlines for its deployments with Jack in the Box and Arby's franchises, and NEXTEP has provided quick-service sandwich shop Subway with indoor and drive-thru self-service solutions, in addition to its supermarket deli deployments.
Further cementing its place as a leader in the QSR kiosk movement, EMN8 also recently announced a landmark partnership with IBM that will leverage Big Blue's sales, marketing, manufacturing and services capabilities to install more of EMN8's signature OrderM8 kiosk and develop future applications in the foodservice and retail verticals.
SLIDESHOW: View photos of EMN8's kiosk deployments in the quick-service restaurant segment.
