McDonald’s Completes 10,500 Drive-Thru Screen Rollout In US

January 23, 2020 by Dave Haynes

McDonald’s is without question a market leader and influencer in the QSR market, so news in the last two-three years that the chain restaurant giant was rolling out digital displays in its drive-thrus would certainly have been encouraging to any company developing and trying to market outdoor display technology.

Now there’s more interesting and encouraging news – Mickey D’s has finished deploying a huge number of drive-thru screens across its U.S. estate. 

This is a Linkedin post (below) by Leo Coates, the CEO and owner of Coates Group, which supplied displays across some 10,500 stores. The company is Australia-based, but works with McDonald’s in other countries and set up shop in Chicago a few years ago to build up business with Mickey Ds on this side of the Pacific.

I don’t absolutely know this, but believe the outdoor LCDs are using Samsung’s outdoor line. The software and players are all STRATACACHE, which has worked with McDonalds for many years.

This is interesting because of the sheer scale of the rollout. It sends a signal that if the Golden Arches people and their franchisees are making that level of investment, there must be a clear ROI. It takes a substantial budget for outdoor screens and all the associated construction and install costs that come with displays and rugged enclosures that have to be hoisted into place, anchored and designed to take on and survive whatever nature serves up.