NEW YORK (TheStreet) --McDonald's (MCD) has begun introducing automated kiosks in its restaurants that customers can walk up to and order food.
CNBC's Susan Li appeared on Thursday morning's "Squawk on the Street" in Bergenfield, NJ, from one of the restaurants that is currently using these automated kiosks.
"McDonald's is really embracing technology and changing the way that you order burgers and fries," Li said.
When a customer enters the restaurant they will walk up to a computer screen, rather than a human behind a counter, to place their order. The customer will swipe through the various menu options, and select which food and beverage items they wish to order. A McDonald's server then brings the order to them.
"I do think people tend to spend more at the kiosks. It's because they see pictures, and when people see pictures they say, I want that," the NJ McDonald's owner and operator Brian Hairson told Li.
McDonald's does currently have these kiosks throughout Europe and the UK, and CEO Steve Easterbrook hopes to soon roll these out all across America.
Regarding labor costs and the fight for minimum wage increases, Li noted McDonald's has said this effort is not indicative of cutting jobs.
"McDonald's has said this is not about cutting jobs. This is about re-distribution of labor and possibly more to the back-end. But, the analyst we spoke to say that yes this may be the case in the short-term, but ultimately this is about cutting down on costs," Li explained.
