The quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry is changing fast, with customers increasingly looking for convenience, value, personalization, and speed when eating out. At the same time, rising costs and increased competition are pushing operators to find smarter ways to improve efficiency and protect profitability.
Technology will play a central role in this transformation, and modern restaurant POS systems are a must to connect ordering, payments, customer data, inventory, and operations. But the right technology is just a starting point, as operators need to know how to utilize it.
From AI-powered operations and personalized menus to mobile ordering and nostalgia-driven marketing, these five trends shaping QSRs in 2026 are creating new opportunities to modernize the customer experience while maximizing profits.
Key takeaways
- Nutrient-led menu design is a good way to meet growing consumer demand, as 62% of consumers are actively seeking high-protein items.
- Operators are driving higher average order value (AOV) through tiered meal deals, targeted upselling, and loyalty incentives that encourage more spending.
- Implementing back-of-house AI for inventory forecasting and drive-thru voice ordering reduces order times by 25% and lowers labor costs by 10%-15%.
- Dedicated mobile pickup sections help businesses manage growing digital order volumes more efficiently, while reducing congestion in traditional drive-thru lanes.
- Operators can capitalize on nostalgia-driven marketing through bringing back retired menu items for a limited time, vintage designs, and retro/throwback pricing.
Quick Service Restaurant Trends: An Overview
The QSR sector is balancing economic pressure, changing consumer behavior, and rapid advances in technology – forcing operators to rethink value, convenience, operational efficiency, and the overall guest experience to drive sustainable growth.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the top quick service restaurant trends right now, what they involve, and what they mean for businesses.
| Trend | Key Focus | Primary drivers & strategic goal | Example tactics |
| Nutrient-led menu design | Portion “right-sizing” and high-protein options | Responding to the demand for nutrient-rich meals | High-protein filters on self-service kiosks and delivery apps |
| Average order value (AOV) focus | Tiered pricing, bundles, and “snackification” | Mitigating traffic declines while safeguarding customer spend | $3-and-under staples, $4–$8 meal bundles, afternoon snack & drink deals |
| Operational and back-of-house AI | Voice ordering, forecasting, and dynamic display boards | Simplifying operations through labor optimization, accuracy and speed | AI voice drive-thrus, inventory forecasting, and smart scheduling |
| Dedicated mobile-app pickup sections | Dedicated fulfillment infrastructure | Managing high volumes of app-based pickups and third-party delivery orders | Multi-lane setups with dedicated mobile pickup bypass lanes |
| Nostalgia-driven marketing | Limited-time offers (LTOs), brand collabs, and retro revivals | Driving traffic and emotional engagement without relying solely on price cuts | Pop-culture flavor mashups, retro menu item returns, sweet & spicy LTOs |
1. Nutrient-Led Menu Design
QSRs are adopting nutrient-led menu designs – focusing on high-protein options and goal-based filters – to capture the 62% of diners actively seeking high-protein meals.
Major brands are meeting this demand by rolling out dedicated protein menus and high-protein items, such as Chipotle’s entirely protein menu, Subway’s protein pockets, and Jack in the Box’s protein bowls and wraps.
To capitalize on this, QSRs should think beyond basic “diet” items and make nutrition a key part of how they create and design menus. For example, offering customers the ability to filter the menu by their specific goals (like “Protein >30g”, “Low Calorie”, “Under 20g Carbs”) on self-service kiosks, adding a single-tap option on POS systems and apps to double the primary protein for a set price upgrade (like “Add 1.5x Chicken” or “Add hard-boiled egg”), and enhancing flavor and consumer appeal by using low-calorie flavor additions like spice blends, fermented sauces, and chilli-based toppings.
Unified solutions, like those provided by NCR Voyix, can help operators provide customers with personalized offers, tailored to their dining habits and preference.
2. Average Order Value (AOV) Focus
Average order value (AOV) refers to the average amount of money a customer spends per transaction. In hospitality, businesses focus on this to maximize the total dollar amount a customer spends during a single transaction, rather than solely trying to increase foot traffic.
There are several tactics operators can take for this, including offering premium add-ons (such as double protein, extra cheese, or speciality dipping sauces) and suggesting complementary items (like drinks, sides, or desserts) right before checkout. Designing structured meal deals (like $5, $7, and $9 bundles) that encourage customers to spend slightly more can also help increase AOV while maintaining a strong value perception.
Additionally, setting rewards triggers just above the current average ticket price (such as “Spend $15 to earn 2x bonus loyalty points”) can prompt single diners to add an extra beverage or side. This is where intelligent self-service kiosks can add extra value, as businesses can utilize them to offer automated and personalized add-on suggestions based on what the customer has in their cart.
NCR Voyix can help boost AOV growth by enabling more personalized and intelligent experiences. Through its Consumer Marketing tool, operators can use customer data and insights to create targeted promotions, deliver personalized offers, and encourage repeat visits through loyalty-driven engagement.
With Aloha Consumer Marketing by Voyix, businesses can organize, analyze, and leverage customer data to drive targeted marketing campaigns (Source: NCR Voyix/Getty Images)
3. Operational and Back-of-House AI
Implementing back-of-house AI for voice ordering and inventory forecasting reduces drive-thru wait times by 25% and lowers labor costs by 10% to 15%.
AI voice technology can be used to enhance the drive-thru experience by accurately capturing customer orders, suggesting relevant add-ons, reducing errors, and allowing employees to focus on food preparation and in-restaurant customer service.
Meanwhile, more brands are relying on backend AI models for inventory forecasting and smart scheduling to promote relevant products and maximize profitability during high-demand periods. 62% of operators are implementing (or planning to implement) AI in at least one back-office function, and research by 1Trolley Cloud found that machine learning models trained on a business’s transaction history can predict demand with 91% accuracy.
NCR Voyix supports the adoption of operational intelligence by offering a unified commerce platform that helps operators connect data across POS systems, ordering channels, labor management, inventory and back-office operations – offering real-time insights and automation for faster decisions, improved inventory visibility, and simplified day-to-day workflows.
4. Dedicated Mobile-App Pickup Sections
Speed is currency. Consumers reward fast, consistent chains with patience – which puts more emphasis on throughput tech. Dedicated mobile-app pickup sections in-store allow QSRs to efficiently process digital orders – which account for 60% of all restaurant orders – while also easing drive-thru congestion.
Around 15 to 20 major QSR chains in the US have dedicated mobile order drive-thru lanes. Most notably, Chipotle introduced the “Chipotlane” in 2019 – a drive-thru lane made exclusively for pre-ordered meals via mobile – and has since surpassed 1,000 lanes. Other chains – including Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts – have also introduced their own mobile ordering drive-thru lanes to speed up waiting times.
For operators, the opportunity is clear. With drive-thrus being the leading preference for 60% of customers, introducing a dedicated mobile drive-thru app can help businesses manage mobile orders more efficiently and provide a more seamless experience while reducing pressure on traditional drive-thru lines. A quick-service POS platform like NCR Voyix offers QSRs better mobile ordering with both in-store and drive-thru fulfillment.
5. Nostalgia-Driven Marketing
Nostalgia-driven marketing is a strategic branding approach where companies tap into positive memories, cultural references, and emotions from the past to build brand affinity and drive sales – increasing customer purchase intent by 75% and boosting brand engagement by up to 60%.
In hospitality, this can work in several ways, such as re-releasing retired “fan favorite” menu items for a limited time to generate FOMO and urgency. For example, Taco Bell’s Volcano Menu or Decades Menu throwbacks, and the widespread return of items like the McDonald’s Snack Wrap or Pizza Hut’s Big New Yorker. Other approaches include redesigning brand assets to mimic vintage looks (like 90s-style packaging and typography) and offering “retro pricing and throwback deals” with temporary price drops – something Whitecastle tapped into when it dropped the price of its Sliders to 67 cents per item last year.
Nostalgia-driven campaigns can also be amplified through digital ordering and loyalty programs. NCR Voyix can help operators connect customer data, loyalty, and digital ordering to deliver more personalized promotions across channels. For example, when a limited-time past menu item returns, brands can target previous purchases with a personalized offer through their loyalty program or mobile ordering app.
Final Thoughts
With how fast-moving the QSR industry has become, operators should see these trends as opportunities rather than standalone initiatives. For this, combining customer data, digital ordering, loyalty, automation, and operational insights will be the most important step.
Unified platforms like Voyix Commerce Platform can help operators bring these capabilities together, as it connects the essential systems and data needed to support more personalized customer experiences, smarter operations, and more efficient fulfillment.
As competition intensifies, QSRs that successfully utilize technology with a strong understanding of customer needs will be better positioned to drive growth, build loyalty, and remain competitive in 2026 and beyond.