How Have Drive-Thru and QSR Technologies Evolved during COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every corner of the foodservice industry, and this was especially true for drive-thru and QSR operations that had yet to digitize their drive-thru operations.

With in-person dining off-limits for the better part of a year in many parts of the world, brands quickly shifted to prioritizing their drive-thrus. This spurred acceleration of digitization and adoption of innovative solutions that can bring new speed and accuracy to drive-thru service.

To explore in greater depth how the pandemic accelerated the digitization of operations in QSR brands, particularly in Europe, and saw many brands take their first steps on this journey, Beyond Technology host Hilary Kennedy chatted with Acrelec’s Peter McManus, VP, Global Account Management.

McManus, who has managed many a large account for Acrelec and saw the shift from a focus on in-person dining to drive-thru service happen in real time during the pandemic, was uniquely suited to offer his front-line insights.

“Certainly, there has been a range of reactions [to the pandemic],” McManus said. “One of the things that we’re certainly seeing is new thinking around new store designs. … Many [QSR] operators have reimagined what their stores should look like.”

That means catering to online and mobile ordering, special lanes to fulfill those orders, a new focus on drive-thru success, and more.

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

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

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

Image

Latest

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
SEO
SEO in the Age of AI: What CMOs and CEOs Need to Know About AEO and GEO
November 20, 2025

In an era when AI-driven search experiences are reshaping how customers discover brands, marketing leaders are navigating a confusing landscape of new acronyms, shifting behaviors, and bold industry predictions. Despite widespread claims that “SEO is dead,” the data tells a different story: organic search traffic has continued to grow even as platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini,…

Read More
From the Bench: How Research Can Help Us Build a Future-Ready Global Healthcare Workforce | Lauren Herckis | EP 18
From the Bench: How Research Can Help Us Build a Future-Ready Global Healthcare Workforce
November 20, 2025

The Care Anywhere podcast is taking listeners behind the scenes of global health workforce research with a brand-new series: From the Bench. In this kickoff episode, host Lea Sims talks with Dr. Lauren Herckis of TruMerit about how research can move from data to real-world impact — revealing how evidence, collaboration, and curiosity are driving…

Read More