This edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features burger pricing, tech investment, the connection between cooking oil and restaurant choice, awarding innovation and sustainability, and why regulars are the lifeblood of kocal business. Brands Investing in Tech Despite margin pressure, brands are investing heavily in technology, including AI, to combat economic headwinds and declining guest traffic, according to Qu’s seventh annual Restaurant Technology Benchmark Report. The data also underscores a major challenge for restaurant brands: operational gaps between order processing and food preparation, leading to fragmented guest experiences. Key findings from the report include: 1. Macro-economic pressures drive a shift toward smarter commerce. Declining traffic pressure, combined with fragmented systems and operational execution challenges, adds more complexity, resulting in disconnected guest experiences. ● 57 percent report a decline in guest traffic (QSRs reporting 67 percent). ● 55 percent cite operational execution as the top barrier to delivering a better guest experience, followed by fragmented systems and data (37 percent). ● 62 percent say improving order flow across all channels is the top priority for 2026. 2. Tech spend is increasing, while margins are squeezed. Brands view technology as a strategic tool to drive efficiency and guest engagement. ● Nearly half of brands (48 percent) report increasing tech investment in 2026, naming digital guest experience as the top priority (57 percent). ● QSRs are accelerating investment after lagging in tech spend over the last several years — 54…
