Serving Up Digital Quality in Global QSR Launches
A hot dog is not a sandwich — at least not when you order it through a kiosk or mobile app. That hot dog becomes a digital experience that must resonate across customer bases and cultures.
From the lively streets of North American cities to the vibrant markets of Latin America, the digital transformation of QSRs is reshaping how customers dine. And while there are numerous opportunities to delight diners, new-market launches offer as many chances — or more — to frustrate and alienate them.
As QSRs expand into new markets, they must constantly evaluate digital apps and in-store digital experiences to succeed in their expansion initiatives. Pay heed to these digital quality complexities to meet the expectations of customers in new markets.
Quality you can taste
Device and browser compatibility pose significant challenges in new-market launches. It’s a logistical nightmare for QSR brands to grapple with the always changing list of in-market devices on which they must validate their customer experiences. Huawei devices and infrastructure, for example, are more prevalent in Latin America, which creates complexities for American testing teams. Likewise, device manufacturers like Xiaomi, Oppo, vivo and Transsion are more widespread in Asia and Africa.
Lab testing on mobile devices can simulate ideal conditions, but real-world testing provides authentic user feedback essential for understanding real market-specific functional and usability issues. For example, internet connectivity and infrastructure vary significantly in different regions, providing very different user experiences. Some Asian and Canadian cities have dense underground malls with skyscrapers above ground, presenting connectivity and signal challenges. Map data accuracy can also present QSR delivery challenges, as not all navigation systems are available or reliable in all regions.
Remember that a digital experience often involves multiple stakeholders — such as delivery drivers, restaurant managers, partners and customers — who all bring their own expectations. Consider how franchise management adds another layer of complexity. Franchisees often operate independently, requiring coordination with a central hub to ensure consistent results. Integrating individual franchise systems with centralized platforms can be a big hurdle. Delivery providers, which are often specific to a country or region, must be able to integrate on the back end to receive clear delivery instructions.
Franchisees often rely on local hires or in-market teams, which often fail to align on launch timelines or quality standards. In-market testing with real users helps bridge this gap, offering valuable insights that internal teams might overlook and identifying potential issues early to allow for proactive solutions.
Have it your way
From menu presentation and user interface design to loyalty programs, various subtleties in the in-market experience significantly affect the customer’s perception of your brand. What works in one market might fail spectacularly in another — and that’s where localization makes a huge difference in the success of a new market launch.
Here’s just a partial list of potential localization or cultural concerns for QSRs:
- language translation and nuance
- sensitivity to local holidays
- units of measurement
- portion sizes
- dietary facts and labels
- religious considerations, such as unique dietary restrictions
- alcohol regulation and availability
- caffeine restrictions or warnings
- regulations for plastic items
- date and number formats
- text truncation in menu items
- menu preferences and ingredient availability
- local interpretations of color, logos and food descriptions
- customer journey preferences, such as in-store pickup vs. delivery
- currency formats
- payment instrument preferences
- cultural preferences around payment features and tipping
Let’s tap into a few of these specifically, as customizing digital experiences to meet market-specific preferences is essential for user satisfaction. QSRs must adapt menu and ingredient options based on regional availability and preferences. For instance, QSRs in India will likely deemphasize beef products due to cultural and social norms. According to a Pew Research Center survey, as many as 81% of Indian adults follow some dietary restrictions on meat, including certain days of the week or types of meat, as cows are traditionally viewed as sacred. Featuring beef in your branding or menu options likely leads to brand damage in this market.
Case studies
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In-store digital experiences must cater to local preferences as well. For instance, when one QSR, which later became a customer of ours, launched kiosks in Florida with Spanish and English options, the company did not see the expected customer conversion rates. The language localization failed to resonate with the diverse local population, an issue that real-world testing might have prevented.
Payment instrument preferences and customs also vary by market. In Latin America, cash payments had traditionally been the preferred payment method. However, it’s important to adapt to changes over time, as McKinsey & Company reports debit cards and credit cards are increasing in local preference, with respondents showing a two- or three-fold percentage increase in these PIs. Further, respondents indicated that ease of use (55%) and access to promotions (30%) were the top motivators for using digital payments, placing the onus squarely on QSRs to meet these expectations.
Remember, however, that not all promotions are received the same in all markets. Cultural differences in tipping and perceptions of discounts or haggling can significantly impact user engagement, in some cases even outright insulting the user, driver or restaurant workers.
Applause leverages a global community of more than one million experts around the world to provide localization testing to validate functional, culturally sensitive experiences, ensuring that digital solutions align with local regulations, preferences and expectations.
Think outside the bun
AI and voice are set to fundamentally change customers’ ordering experiences. Many brands are experimenting with or implementing these technologies today, and some have even acquired technology vendors to accelerate their efforts. In fact, Market.us projects AI in the food and beverage market to be worth $311.6 billion by 2033 — a CAGR of 43.7% from 2024 to 2033 and a whopping 3,654.22% growth over 2023. Some of the largest areas of that investment footprint include quality control, demand forecasting, customer service and engagement.
One brand that we work with experimented with AI drive-through trials, for example, which highlights the potential for enhanced customer interactions and more efficient restaurant operations. Accurate voice recognition and order processing are absolutely critical in these scenarios, as even a small number of inaccurate or unintelligible orders will cause customer frustration and potentially reputation damage.
Voice is another area where it’s crucial to collect in-market voice artifacts to understand the myriad of different regional dialects and accents. Collecting this data helps the system understand requests — which is an important step, but only the first step. Once the system is built, it must be tested with real, in-market customers to gather additional information, upon which the dev team can iterate. This feedback should ideally continue even when the platforms are live in-market to ensure problems are quickly addressed.
Generative AI systems can help a customer gather information for their orders, like ingredient information, dietary restrictions and customer reviews. These are incredibly important to validate, as even one slip-up on a dietary need can have disastrous consequences for the brand and the customer. As with voice validation, AI training and testing is a full-lifecycle effort, involving sourcing high-quality data at the outset, fine-tuning responses to meet expectations, red-team testing and evaluation and pre-launch testing. The goal is to produce accurate and safe outputs, and that requires human involvement and validation.
This approach to validating generative AI experiences for QSR customers also applies to other AI models, such as AI recommendation engines that assist customers with finding complementary items for their order. With a wealth of previous customer data at their fingertips, QSRs have the ability to drive more revenue and customer satisfaction.
Can’t beat the real thing
Comprehensive payment system testing can’t be done with dummy cards or accounts. Nor is testing via dogfooding or employees in local markets enough to understand the challenges. For one, it’s most likely too small a sample size; two, real transactions are required to discover bugs in the oft-complicated payment process.
Consider the complexity of a customer loyalty program, which might also have localization nuances to validate. Does a customer accrue points as expected? Can they easily redeem those points? How do they feel about the discounts they’re receiving — or are they tolerant of discounts at all? All of these considerations matter in new-market launches, especially as customers who use these programs fit the “loyal” moniker, with 25% of QSR loyalty customers accounting for 70% of program revenue, according to PayIQ. Seamless payments are a vital part of the customer experience. Brands need to account for regional payment preferences and standards, as discussed above. But it’s not a one-and-done checklist item. Brands must stay tuned to legal and technical changes that alter the QSR landscape.
For example, global wage regulations move the needle for QSRs when it comes to securing revenue. In California, increased minimum wages for QSR staff have prompted a variety of pricing strategy moves, including the adoption of dynamic pricing strategies. Dynamic pricing aims to offset regional operational costs and offer an additional way to entice users and maximize revenue. While many app users will be familiar with dynamic pricing — ever tried to catch an Uber after a sporting event? — this pricing feature offers another opportunity to frustrate customers. Prices must be clearly stated, and buyer behavior should be regularly incorporated to update algorithms and ensure revenue targets are met.
It’s better here
New-market launches present numerous quality challenges for QSRs, from technical compatibility and franchise integration to cultural adaptation and payment system implementation. It’s a never-ending battle to ensure high-quality, resonant experiences with customers. Luckily, that’s exactly what Applause serves on the menu for our clients every day.
Applause offers comprehensive testing solutions, leveraging a global community of more than one million experts across more than 200 countries and territories to ensure high-quality digital experiences. We offer the capacity and flexibility to handle your testing needs all around the world and provide actionable insights that drive higher quality and revenue.
By partnering with Applause, QSRs can navigate the complexities of new market launches with confidence, delivering not just palatable, but delightful products globally. Whether it’s reducing functional defects, expanding localization efforts, fostering usability and accessibility, or training and testing AI systems, Applause provides the expertise needed for successful digital transformations that deliver proven value back to organizations.
Let’s cook up a plan today to help you succeed in your new market launches.
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