McDonald’s is phasing out its self-serve fountain machines in its US eating places by the 12 months 2032. The choice is aimed toward making a constant expertise for patrons and crew members throughout the chain. Beforehand, prospects have been in a position to fill and refill their very own drinks in McDonald’s eating rooms. Nonetheless, because of the pandemic, shopper conduct has shifted, and extra persons are utilizing the drive-thru and supply providers quite than consuming contained in the eating places. This decreased demand for the self-serve machines and contributed to McDonald’s resolution to get rid of them.

McDonald’s is adapting its future restaurant designs to accommodate the modifications in shopper conduct. This consists of smaller or no eating rooms and high-tech drive-thrus. The corporate’s digital gross sales, akin to orders made by way of its app or companions like Uber, now make up 40% of its whole gross sales. As a part of this adaptation, McDonald’s has teased a brand new idea known as “CosMc’s,” which encompasses a decreased eating space. The CEO, Chris Kempczinski, has expressed the corporate’s curiosity in capitalizing on growth alternatives in areas the place there may be at the moment a scarcity of McDonald’s areas.

Ditching eating rooms was beforehand thought-about “off limits” for McDonald’s, however the pandemic has significantly impacted buyer habits. McDonald’s has not supplied additional particulars concerning the “CosMc” idea. Different quick meals chains, together with Chipotle, Taco Bell, and Starbucks, are additionally experimenting with reinventing their restaurant designs to adapt to altering shopper preferences.