Best Served Hot: What Consumers Want in QSR

The Quick Serve Restaurant, or QSR, is quick and convenient: a great place to satisfy your appetite for food. But research shows that consumers are hungry for more, and by and large, QSRs are not feeding those needs. Why are customers unfulfilled even after a great meal? The most highly rated quick serve restaurants, according to information complied by PYMTS.com, are excelling in four areas of innovation.

  • In-store events: 97% of the top-rated restaurants offer participation in regular events sponsored by the company. It’s no surprise that consumer engagement is key in today’s culture.
  • In-store inventory: 83% of these high-ranking locations offer updates on inventory to its visitors. Information is key to QSR diners.
  • Accepts QR codes: Only 18% of all QSRs in the Restaurant Readiness Index accept QR code, but 43% of the favored locales offer this service.
  • Accepts contactless payment: 57% of the most innovative companies accept contactless payment, compared to 35% of their less innovative competitors.

The results show a clear preference for digital innovation in the industry, yet these areas are being ignored by most QSRs. In evidence of this trend, the Restaurant Readiness Index also revealed that the presence of time-saving in-store kiosks is an area of growing preference. It turns out that besides good food, the Q in QSR is a much-adored innovation in eating out for today’s consumer.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

empathy
Why Empathy Matters in Today’s Workplace and How It Builds Better Teams
November 25, 2025

Empathy has become a business competency, not a soft nice-to-have. With hybrid teams, rapid AI adoption, and a workforce increasingly vocal about identity and inclusion, companies are being pushed to rethink what effective leadership looks like right now. Research and workplace trend reports consistently show that employees who feel seen and supported are more…

Read More
pastor
Finding Purpose Through Service: Faith, Leadership, and Legacy with Pastor Arthur James
November 24, 2025

Burnout among faith leaders has surged in recent years, fueled by heavier workloads, complex community needs, and the quiet exhaustion many pastors carry—sparking urgent conversations about resilience, calling, and sustainable leadership. A survey found that roughly four in ten pastors considered leaving full-time ministry in a single year, citing reasons like stress and loneliness—making guidance…

Read More
Karen Alter
Why the Best Leaders Don’t Climb Straight Ladders: How Karen Alter Built Success Through Detours
November 24, 2025

As companies push to decarbonize, modernize infrastructure, and bring new technologies to market, the leaders who stand out aren’t always the ones who followed a straight career path. Increasingly, it’s the people with the zigzags—the folks who’ve worked across different industries, adapted to new environments, and learned to make decisions under pressure—who bring the clarity…

Read More
intuition
Allowing Inspiration to Grow from Intuition: How Inner Guidance Drives Real Career Growth
November 21, 2025

In a workplace culture increasingly shaped by rapid change, rising expectations, and new definitions of leadership, professionals are redefining success beyond titles and output. Empathy, intuition, and inner alignment — once seen as intangible “nice-to-haves” — are now emerging as competitive advantages. As recent workforce studies show that human-centered leaders drive higher engagement and…

Read More