Welcome to "Digital Menu Board Mastery," a practical guide for restaurant operators who want to transform their digital displays from simple menu listings into powerful profit-driving tools. Research shows that restaurants achieve a 3.7x ROI on digital menu board investments within 18 months (National Restaurant Association, 2022), yet many operators aren't leveraging their full potential. Throughout this series, we'll explore science-backed strategies that can dramatically impact your bottom line through strategic menu engineering.
Each article will focus on one actionable technique you can implement immediately, regardless of your restaurant's size or concept. Let's begin with one of the most powerful yet straightforward approaches: Strategic Item Placement.
Concept 1: Strategic Item Placement (The Science of Visual Attention)
This is a very simple concept and one that can be implemented quickly. The key to this concept is where you position items on your digital menu board and how that directly impacts what customers notice and purchase. Eye-tracking research from Cornell University shows that items placed in the top right quadrant can see up to 25% higher sales than when placed elsewhere (Cornell Hospitality Quarterly).
This isn't random behavior—it's hardwired into how humans process visual information, creating a significant opportunity for restaurants that understand these patterns.
Identifying Your Menu's "Golden Zones"
Research shows that customers view menus in one of two primary patterns. This refers to the way in which customers visually scan your menu and prioritize their own understanding of your offering.
The "F" Pattern
This pattern typically applies to very text heavy menus with many items and limited or no imagery.
- Begins at top left
- Scans horizontally across the top
- Moves down and reads partially across
- Scans vertically down the left side
The "Golden Triangle"
This pattern typically applies to menus that have significant imagery and are less dense with text and descriptions
- Starts near the center
- Moves to the top right
- Then to the top left
- Important items should be here
What Items Deserve Prime Positions?
- High-Margin Items
This is not hard to determine. You should be able to see your food cost and margins pretty easily in you POS system. Placing high-margin items in this space will help increase your profitability. A real world example of this is Shake Shack.Shake Shack strategically positioned their LTO premium shakes and higher-margin burger options in the prime visual areas of their digital menu boards. Stores with the optimized menu placement saw a 22% higher attachment rate for premium shakes and a 14% increase in sales for their high-margin "Shack Stack" burger compared to control locations. CEO Randy Garutti specifically attributed $0.63 in additional per-ticket revenue to their "digital menu engineering initiatives focused on strategic item placement."
- Signature Items
Specialty or Signature items should be placed in these premium areas. Panera Bread reported a 30% increase in add-on sales after strategically repositioning their signature bakery items (Fast Casual Magazine, 2021). Some of the additional benefits included a 42% increase specifically in premium pastry selections, a $0.37 increase in average check size attributed directly to bakery add-ons. They also saw a significant impact during the 2-5pm day part when coffee-pastry pairings increased by 47%. - Promotional Offerings
Promotional items or Limited time offers should also leverage the benefit of this premium space. Wendy's saw a 15% increase in units sold when featuring specific combo meals in premium positions (NEC Display Solutions). The also experienced a 23% increase specifically during evening hours (5-8pm) and a $0.42 increase in per-transaction average when the repositioned items were purchased. One of the other benefits was a 18% decrease in the time customers spent at the order point, suggesting easier decision-making.
How to use these concepts
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I want to make these concepts as practical as possible. Here are some things you can do right now to improve the value of your digital menu boards:
Visual Emphasis
Even within golden zones, create further emphasis through:
- Size differentiation (15-20% larger)
- Color contrast
- Strategic white space
- Simple borders or frames
Strategic Motion (Use animation sparingly to make it special)
- Reserve for highest-priority items only
- Maintain adequate viewing time (8-10 seconds minimum)
- Use transitions between dayparts to highlight different items
Daypart Optimization
Feature different items in prime positions based on:
- Time-specific profit opportunities
- Changing customer demographics throughout the day
- Operational efficiency during rush periods
Measuring Results
Measurement is one of the things that many companies forget to do. It is incredibly important that you measure the impact of your changes so you can find opportunities for incremental improvement. Here are the key steps you should take for measuring the impact of these strategies:
Before Making Changes
Record at least two weeks of baseline data:
- Units sold
- Percentage of total orders
- Average check when item is included
Test Methodically
- Move one high-potential item to a golden zone
- Track performance for 7-14 days
- Compare to baseline
- Keep successful changes and continue testing
Common Pitfalls
As with anything you do, there are some key things to try and avoid. When it comes to implementing these strategies, be sure to avoid these common mistakes:
- Overcrowding prime areas: Creates visual clutter that reduces impact
- Static thinking: Fail to leverage digital flexibility for seasonal changes
- Neglecting the rest of your menu: Creating imbalance in overall design
Your Action Plan
Throughout this series we want to make the ideas as practical as possible. Each article in this series will include a simple action plan that you can use to put these ideas into action. Here is your action plan for this concept:
Map your menu layout to identify golden zones
- Select 1-3 high-potential items for prime placement
- Implement changes one at a time
- Measure results against baseline data
- Refine based on performance
In our next installment, we'll explore psychological pricing anchors to further enhance your menu's performance.
Sources:
- Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly
- Yang, Kimes, and Sessarego (2009), Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management
- Shake Shack Q1 2023 Investor Relations report (2023)
- "Panera Bread's Digital Transformation," Fast Casual Magazine (2021)
- NEC Display Solutions, "Wendy's Digital Menu Case Study"
- Sicom Systems, "Bojangles' Digital Menu Implementation" (2019)
- "Restaurant Technology Annual Report," National Restaurant Association (2022)
- "Digital Menu Board Industry Report," Digital Signage Today (2023)