RPOS & Elo - ReSource Point of Sale : ReSource Point of Sale

The rise of the kiosk has made usability front-of-mind for point-of-sale providers, but it’s not just consumers who need an intuitive interface. Usability is equally important behind the counter, where a restaurant’s objectives for speed and quality can be made or broken. So, what does it take to lead with usability on both sides of the curtain? What should restaurants be looking for? And how can restaurants benefit by putting usability first for everyone?

If you’re looking for the answers to questions like these, read on to learn more about key attributes of usable interfaces, the importance of ease-of-use for front and back of house stakeholders, and partnerships that will help you put usability center stage. Let’s get this show on the road!

About ReSource Point of Sale

ReSource POS was founded in Chicago and now serves customers in offices located in Illinois, Florida, Bosnia and Paraguay. We work to empower business owners in the retail and restaurant sectors to differentiate themselves with our best-in-class solutions and services.

ReSource POS by the Numbers

First established in 2003
170+ full-time team members
5 international offices
Supporting 12,500+ endpoints

About Elo

Elo Touch invented the touchscreen over 50 years ago, and didn’t stop there. They hold strong standards of quality and reliability to provide millions with innovative solutions that achieve high-level usability and maximum efficiency for every aspect of your business.

Elo by the Numbers

50+ years in touchscreen
30+ million installs worldwide
400+ global patents
80+ countries worldwide

The Rise of the Kiosk

The kiosk has become the undisputed star of the modern guest experience.

Initially met by fierce consumer resistance, the road to stardom for the kiosk has closely paralleled the growth of personal mobile computing and the customer demand for immediacy. Hover over the years below for some insightful facts on the growth of the kiosk over time.

2005

Yesterday: 40% of customers were not likely to use order and pay kiosks, with only 26% very likely to use them.¹

2020

Over the last 3 Years: Digital ordering rose rose 117% from February 2020 through February 2022.²

2023

Today: 4 in every 5 people (81%) would rather speak to an automated voice system when ordering food from a drive thru.³

2023

Today: 65% of QSR customers would visit restaurants more frequently if they could order using self-service kiosks.⁴

2024

Tomorrow: The global kiosk market is expected to reach $30.8 billion.⁵

Widespread use of technology, the rise of self-service in other sectors, and the desire for operational efficiency all contributed to the rise of the kiosk. In a survey conducted by SOTI, 73% of respondents said they are in favor of self-service technology to improve shopping experience and reduce staff interactions.⁶ The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this change as it necessitated less human-to-human contact.

The preference for self-service varies across generational lines. For example, 20% of millennials don’t like interacting with a cashier at checkout.⁷ Additionally, a survey conducted by PlayUSA found that 84% of Gen Z and 76% of Millennials prefer using tech-based checkouts.⁸ While generational preferences persist, research tells us that the aggregate sentiment is moving overwhelmingly in favor of the risk. 66% of customers believe automation improves their shopping experience.⁹

A new Elo touch screen is installed every 21 seconds.

The rise of the kiosk is not only good for customer satisfaction, but good for business. More than 65% of customers said they would visit a restaurant more often if self-service kiosks were offered, and 30% of customers would order from a kiosk over a cashier if the lines were the same length. This perspective has shifted greatly from 2018, at which point 78% of customers said they would be less inclined to go to a restaurant that has self-order kiosks.¹⁰ Consider an even higher impact stat. Kiosks are estimated to increase average check total by up to 30% for restaurants! What would that mean for your locations?¹¹

The rise of the kiosk naturally raised the bar for usability by making the ordering and purchasing interface a central part of the guest experience that can make or break quality and satisfaction. This led to a paradigm shift in restaurant technologies which previously focused only on durability and efficiency. Today, the personal mobile device standard has made its way into virtually every part of the restaurant. Over time, this usability-first approach to restaurant tech has made its way to the traditional, crew-facing POS and to the back of house.

Elo’s team consists of over 600 experts to help you find the perfect solution for your business.

Unpacking Usability

What does it mean to be usable?

What is usability?

At the most basic level, usability is defined as the ability of a specific user in a specific scenario to achieve a specific goal by using a specific product. Using this definition, we discover that usability is not just for the customer-facing interactions in our restaurant, it’s relevant and essential anywhere a human is using technology to get something done.

Before we explore the impact of usability on various restaurant stakeholders, let’s first define the key attributes of a usable solution:

Satisfaction

The subjective component of usability… was it enjoyable?

Learnability

Easy to learn quickly, works the way humans do.

Memorability

Allows users to jump back in without re-learning.

Efficiency

Lack of redundancy in interactions, ability to achieve the goal quickly.

Error

Reduction in human errors, built-in ability to fix mistakes.

Usability for Front and Back of House

What does usability look like for key stakeholders on both sides of the curtain?

The core tenets of usability apply no matter the human user. But there are other aspects of usability that are more nuanced and specific to the stakeholder or role. Let’s take a closer look at how usability applies behind the curtain and center stage in your restaurant.

Back of House
How usability plays a role backstage.

Business owners

Produce a show worth seeing again and again.

For business owners, usability means quick and intuitive access to key metrics on sales, operations, and profitability. Today’s restaurant is a melting pot of diverse technologies and achieving a unified and timely view across channels is often easier said than done.

Through best-in-class solutions, strong integrations, and scalable data management, today’s business managers can create an experience that is both praise-worthy and profitable.

71% of decision makers stated that digital transformation was the most important factor for business agility.¹²

Kitchen crew

Put in the work to make the magic happen.

It’s not always elegant, but the busy restaurant kitchen is where the real magic happens. Kitchen crew need to have instant and intuitive visibility into orders across channels so they can deliver high-quality food items safely, accurately, and rapidly.

Think of your kitchen crew as the stage crew of your production. Enable them to perform their best by providing them a lens into what is happening on stage, and giving the unified kitchen management solutions they need to boost efficiency and effectiveness.

98% is the targeted metric for order accuracy in most restaurants.¹³

Front of House
How usability plays a role center stage to impress the star of your show.

Customers

Flip the script and be the star of your own journey.

For customers, usability is an expectation, not a luxury. Customers’ daily lives are filled with technologies that are so usable they feel like an extension of the user. They expect this same standard from each and every purchasing experience.

Through kiosks, line busting tablets, and tableside devices that reduce friction, enable customization, and captivate attention, restaurants can deliver customers award-winning experiences right where they are.

72% of customers expect to be able to customize their orders.¹⁴

Customer-facing Employees

Meet your cast where they are and greet them with a smile.

For cashiers and other customer-facing employees, usability is integral to meeting today’s customers’ intense expectations for speed, accuracy, quality, and personalization.

Through intuitive point-of-sale solutions that require zero training, restaurants can delight guests, reduce human error, and boost crew retention.

By the time a line reaches 10 people, 91% will leave without ordering.¹⁵

The Elo Suite

How do Elo’s solutions support usability throughout the restaurant?

Whether center stage or backstage, usability is central to the restaurant experience. Through technology solutions that put the human user first, restaurants can satisfy all of their stakeholders, earn resounding applause from their guests, and set themselves apart. Let’s take a closer look at Elo’s suite of usability-first solutions.