We’ve all seen them, and most of us have used them: the tall, glowing screens beckoning you to tap your order, customize your meal, and pay, all without speaking to a single person. Self-ordering kiosks have become a key feature of the hospitality industry at remarkable speed, and the data suggests we’ve barely seen the half of it.
A Market on the Move
The numbers are striking; according to Datos Insights, the global installed base of self-ordering kiosks neared 450,000 units by mid-2025. This represents a 30% increase in just two years, and a record high number of kiosks—more than 75,000—were shipped in the fiscal year of July 2024 to June 2025 alone.
The Americas remains the largest region for installations, unsurprising given the huge hospitality sector in the U.S., which is home to close to one-third of terminals globally. But the market is burgeoning across the world, with strong growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, as well as in Asian countries, including India, South Korea, and the Philippines.
The Giants Lead …
McDonald’s remains the undisputed leader of self-ordering kiosk deployment, with more than 143,000 terminals installed worldwide—a scale that no competitor comes close to matching. But other global chains, including Burger King, KFC, and Taco Bell, are expanding into new territories and replacing older hardware in established ones.
KFC, for instance, has nearly doubled the number of devices installed in the Asia-Pacific since 2023, launching in markets as varied as Hong Kong and Bangladesh; kiosks are now its largest digital sales channel, accounting for nearly 50% of all digital sales, excluding China. Chains like Popeyes, which is growing internationally with around 5,000 restaurants, have positioned kiosks as a core channel when entering new territories.
… But Local Brands Are Embracing Kiosks Too!
The huge U.S. quick-service restaurant space is ripe for further kiosk expansion. Shake Shack has transformed its customer experience in recent years, with kiosks now representing the chain’s largest ordering channel across all company-owned locations. Other brands moving in this direction include El Pollo Loco, which has rolled out devices to more than 200 locations, and Bojangles, following a successful pilot. Jack in the Box has also invested heavily in kiosks as part of its “JACK on Track” strategy.
Outside the U.S., local brands are increasingly installing kiosks, including Saudi Arabia’s Kudu, which has more than 350 locations, and French chain Enjoy Tacos. With a whole host of independents also placing self-ordering terminals in their stores, the technology has democratized to the point at which it is no longer the exclusive domain of the world’s largest restaurant groups.
Beyond the Burger Joint
It’s not just fast-food locations where you’ll stumble across kiosks—uptake is rising in under-penetrated sectors including coffee chains. Starbucks alone has more than 41,000 stores globally and started trialing self-ordering in Japan and South Korea in 2025. It has since announced it is exploring introducing kiosks to high-traffic locations in the U.S. In the retail space, large-format store operators such as Costco, IKEA, and Tesco have deployed terminals in their in-store cafés or food courts.
The appeal is consistent regardless of sector: faster throughput, higher average ticket values, and reduced pressure on staff. Gong Cha, the bubble tea chain, reports that kiosks now account for 70% of transactions at its redesigned stores and have pushed average spend up by 10% to 15%. Auntie Anne’s, the pretzel and snack brand, describes kiosk ordering as “the tip of the spear” in its operational overhaul, directly addressing the long queues that have historically constrained the business. In a labor market that continues to present significant cost and availability challenges, the business case for self-ordering appears clear.
What Comes Next
Datos Insights forecasts global installations will approach 750,000 units by 2030. This trajectory will be shaped by several forces: the continued global rollouts from major chains into new markets, the ongoing replacement cycle as older hardware is upgraded, and the expansion of the technology into sectors—coffee, retail, casual dining—that have only recently begun to adopt it.
Screen size trends offer an indication of where the market may be heading. While large screens remain common in several markets, many operators globally are shifting to midsize and countertop formats, reflecting a preference for more flexible, less imposing store layouts.
And it’s not all about the hardware; the software side is crucial to the success of kiosk adoption, through deep integrations with kitchen management systems, loyalty programs, and delivery platforms, turning the kiosk from a stand-alone ordering tool into a central node in a fully connected restaurant operation. To learn more about our research into self-ordering kiosks, visit here. If you’d like to gain access to the full study or discuss the findings, reach out to Alan Burt at [email protected].
