The power of the menu board: driving growth where QSR decisions are made
October 9, 2025
Speed, convenience, and choice define the modern QSR experience. But as consumers face tighter budgets and rising expectations, they’re demanding more than just fast food. They want value, quality, and relevance all delivered in real time. For QSR brands, this is both a challenge and an opportunity: to rethink in-store communication as a driver of loyalty, sales, and brand differentiation.
At Visual Art, we believe the future of QSR is digital, dynamic, and designed around moments of decision. While mobile ordering and delivery continue to grow, the majority of QSR transactions still happen in-store or at the drive-thru. This is the arena where brand promises meet customer expectations and where digital signage can turn service into strategy.
In-store is more than about service: It’s the whole brand experience.
Customers don’t just walk into a QSR for food—they come for convenience, familiarity, and sometimes inspiration. The menu board isn’t just a list of options. It’s the single most influential touchpoint in the entire QSR journey.
- Research shows that menu boards can influence up to 70% of purchase decisions made in-store.
- Limited time offers and promotions can increase trial rates by over 30%.
- And digital boards can lift same-store sales by 5–8% when content is optimized for time, place, and context.
In other words: every second at the counter or drive-thru is a moment of truth.
From glance to order: What smart digital signage can do
Digital signage in QSR is not about flashy visuals. Digital signage in QSR it about performance. With Visual Art’s IXM platform, brands can adapt content dynamically: switching menus for breakfast, surfacing local campaigns, or promoting add-ons when it matters most.
The result? Higher upsell, faster service, and stronger brand recall.
And unlike static signage, digital platforms allow for centralized consistency with local flexibility—ensuring global QSR brands deliver the same experience everywhere, while still adapting to local tastes and cultural cues.
Creativity drives appetite. Strategy makes it last.
What makes a message resonate in a busy QSR environment? Clarity. Context. Relevance. That’s why our process starts with strategy, not just screen placement.
Our design studio combines storytelling, behavioural insights, and brand guidelines to craft digital menus and campaigns that do more than inform. These campaigns persuade. Because in a 10-second ordering moment, content needs to be precise, emotional, and actionable.
The smartphone is the new ordering lane
Today’s QSR guests don’t just look up at the menu, they look down at their phones. Whether scanning QR codes, browsing apps, or checking loyalty rewards, mobile has become a natural extension of the QSR journey.
That’s why Visual Art designs signage that complements mobile, not competes with it. Our solutions bridge in-store and in-hand experiences—triggering app engagement, cross-promotions, and even continued brand conversations after the meal.
Five ways QSR brands can elevate in-store impact
- Modernise menu boards
- Replace static menus with digital platforms that update in real time and respond to context, daytime, and local promotions.
- Drive value perception with relevance
- Use dynamic content to highlight meal deals, bundles, and product benefits to not just show prices.
- Turn digital signage into a loyalty driver
- Connect in-store content with loyalty apps and offers to encourage repeat visits.
- Support the omnichannel QSR journey
- Design content that bridges walk-in, drive-thru, and mobile ordering experiences seamlessly.
- Scale with consistency across markets
- Use centralized control with local adaptation to ensure brand integrity across every franchise and region
The opportunity
For QSR brands, in-store is more than just a point of sale, it’s a point of brand communication. At Visual Art, we help global chains design experiences that move beyond serving food to building loyalty and driving growth. From strategy and creative design to execution and measurement, we turn digital signage into a core business asset.
Reach out to our Global Head of Design Studio, Pelle Mets Höök, today to learn how we can help transform your QSR experience.
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