Australia

Ready to roast, ready to serve.

McDonald's crowned as the reigning king of fast food.

New payment methods, new ordering options, new events.

Cloud computing and tablet ordering systems driving big changes at QSRs.

Last week we reported on a new promotion being run by Eagle Boys. Following on from the end of that promotion, we sat down with Eagle Boys Kate Pettiford, to see how it went and what lessons had been learnt.

Find out the weeks highlights.

End of season parties, and EDM engagement.

Find out what inspired the new menu item.

It finally goes mobile.

Customers able to pay bill at table without having to flag down and wait for waiter service PayPal Australia has just announced the launch of its new ‘Pay at Table’ feature to its mobile app. The new feature will allow customers to check into a restaurant on their mobile, enter their table number and then pay their bill, with or without tip, removing the sometimes laborious task of having to flag down a waiter. “The Pay at Table feature delivers a tailored solution that gives restaurants and cafes direct access to over 5.5 million account holders using the PayPal digital wallet online, on-the-go and in-store”, says Andrew Rechtman, Senior Director of SMB, Retail and Strategy at PayPal Australia. The announcement dovetails with Europay, MasterCard and Visa changes set to come into effect in August, which are designed to expand PIN at point of sale, meaning customers will no longer be able to sign for transactions. “PayPal’s Pay at Table...has negated what would have been a substantial investment in new fixed terminals or mobile upgrades to comply with the new standards,” Robert Gugliotta, owner of Bravo Trattoria in Sydney said.

Have adopted a new approach to franchise partner recruitment.

Rapid fall from grace for chain.

McDonald’s manages it, other chains lag. Last week we reported on Ipsos MediaCT latest Enhanced Media Metrics Australia report. One of the most interesting findings to come from the report is the disconnect between branch awareness, and brand purchase. emma surveyed people on what QSR chains they would consider eating at, and then what QSR’s they actually ate at. The results are startling. Perhaps unsurprisingly, McDonald’s comes out on top, with roughly equal consideration vs conversion rates i.e. the number of people considering purchasing a meal at the burger chain equates to the number who eventually go on to do so. The brand also has relatively strong consumption rates, with nearly 42% of Australians (14+) eating there. As the survey also went on to rank peoples motivations for eating at a QSR as being based on price, convenience and taste, it could be that the sheer number of McDonald’s stores is working in their favour, though no doubt these results will be giving many QSRs food for thought.

Find out what QSR's got up to this week on various social media platforms.

Store is 69th for coffee chain.

Chicken chain to back pay staff.