McDonald's global outage raises concerns over reliance on digital services: GlobalData

The report stressed the need for the restaurant industry to prioritise digital investment.

Fast-food chain McDonald’s experienced a system outage across its outlets in Australia, China, Japan, and the UK, on Friday, 15 March.

According to a report by GlobalData, whilst McDonald’s has ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the outage, the multiple store closures highlighted the hefty costs associated with such disruptions.

“The true cost of the disruption to sales during the McDonald’s IT outage is unclear, but it points to a need within the restaurant industry to get the basics right in terms of digital investment,” said Hannah Cleland, consumer analyst at GlobalData. 

Aside from the enhanced user experience, the prevailing cost-of-living crisis has amplified consumer reliance on digital services, she noted.

At least 38% of consumers globally consider the digital sophistication of food and drink products/services when making purchasing decisions, as per GlobalData's 2023 Q4 Global Consumer Survey.

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Delays and disruptions not only frustrate consumers but also lower confidence levels and the likelihood of repeat purchases.

“McDonald’s has significantly invested in digital ordering in recent years, including self-service order kiosks, smartphone delivery and takeaway apps, and AI-powered ‘drive-thru’ systems,” Cleland said.

She said that the company’s extensive investments in digital ordering solutions aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction