Qu, the creator of the industry’s leading cloud-native Unified Commerce Platform, has officially published the results from its sixth annual State of Digital Report, which reveals critical insights for fast casual and quick service restaurant (QSR) operators.
Going by the available details, this particular report took into consideration data from 170 brands across 85,000 locations, all for unpacking a monumental shift happening across the QSR industry.
More on the same would reveal how restaurants, which are still relying on fragmented, third-party ordering platforms, were found to face an incremental amount of hidden challenges that eventually go on to erode margins and complicate operations, thus making it harder to meet guest expectations and accurately forecast performance.
In contrast, by consolidating systems and moving to direct ordering, operators can eliminate that disconnect created by multiple ordering channels, third-party marketplaces, and piecemeal tech providers. Such a transition, on its part, should effectively unlock real-time business insights so to empower smarter decisions, more efficient operations, and a deeper understanding of guest preferences.
“When restaurants own the guest relationship and bring all their data together, they stop operating in the dark,” said Amir Hudda, CEO of Qu. “Our report’s findings make it clear: holistic, integrated tech gives brands the clarity and agility they need to navigate changing market dynamics and stay ahead of the competition. For franchise systems, this connectivity translates into stronger P&Ls, justifiable tech fees and a more compelling pitch to prospective franchisees.”
Talk about Qu’s 2025 State of Digital Report on a slightly deeper level, it identified six distinct trends that are likely to drive fast casual and QSR profitability this year.
These trends include shift from to first-party ordering. You see, more than 40% brands deemed first-party digital sales as their biggest revenue growth potential during 2025, followed by catering (24%) and on-premises ordering (14%). In the case of QSRs, 55% said they are focusing on first-party ordering for revenue growth, outpacing drive-thru, and third-party apps.
Beyond that, we had fast casual at 36%, who would prioritize direct digital channels. All in all, with reduced reliance on third-party platforms, brands can better control costs, improve unit-level economics, and chart the necessary course for more personalized loyalty and marketing efforts.
The next trend in line will be of consolidating tech systems to unlock efficiency, and at the same time, prepare brands for AI. Here, an estimated 64% brands said they are already working to simplify their tech stack, transitioning to unified systems that reduce costs and eliminate tech debt. This they are doing while simultaneously aligning the underlying data infrastructure and models.
Such simplification will likely release more resources in the ecosystem for growth and accelerating access to richer data insights, something which will be critical for both operational efficiency and AI-powered innovation. As for franchises, they can come expecting streamlined systems to reduce onboarding time, lower training costs, and make scaling easier.
Another trend published within Qu’s report relates to data-driven personalization to unlock guest engagement. If we entrust one of Paytronix’s report, 85% of guests are still unreachable through traditional programs. To make matters worse, loyalty spending has also dropped 8% year-over-year, but having said so, investments in guest data platforms has increased by 11%.
“At Blaze, we use Qu’s cutting-edge tech to enhance hospitality — texting guests when orders are ready, delivering tableside and capturing real-time feedback,” said Chris Demery, CTO of Blaze Pizza. “This kind of data helps operators and franchisees forecast demand, manage surges and streamline orders. Even one extra visit per guest each year can boost revenue by 5 to 10%.”
Apart from that, kiosks are also tipped to increase in prevalence and ease labor strains. We get to say so because 62% of brands said they are adding kiosks, with adoption even higher in QSRs (80%).
Alongside that, the footprint of smart kitchens is projected to grow significantly in 2025 to drive accuracy and productivity. This expectation arrives on the back of nearly 70% brands citing order accuracy and team productivity as a key operating challenge.
Hence, many are adopting smart kitchen tech which leverages unified data and AI to optimize critical workflows.
