Popular franchises like McDonald's plan to invest $2 billion into bringing AI and robots into stores and drive-thrus in 2024.

麥當勞等熱門連鎖公司計劃在 2024 年投資 20 億美元，將 AI 和機器人引入商店和得來速。

In 2022, American grocery stores spent $13 billion on tech automations.

2022 年，美國雜貨店在自動化技術上的花費將達到 130 億美元。

The Food Industry Association expects spending on things like smart carts and revamped self-checkout aisles to grow 400% through 2025.

食品工業協會預計，到 2025 年，在智慧購物車和改造後的自助收銀通道等方面的支出將增長 400%。

Automation is playing a bigger role in fast food and it will play a bigger role still.

自動化在速食業中發揮著越來越大的作用，而且還將發揮更大的作用。

The problem is with minimum wage hikes in places like California, with other cost pressures still coming through, it's very expensive now to run a fast food business.

問題是，隨著加州等地最低工資標準的提高，以及其他成本壓力的不斷增加，現在經營速食店的成本非常高。

And whilst fast food retailers have tried to remedy that by passing on prices to customers, customers, of course, don't like that and volumes go down.

雖然速食零售商試圖通過將價格轉嫁給顧客來彌補這一不足，但顧客當然不喜歡這樣，所以銷量下降。

Americans are spending an average of $475 a month on groceries.

美國人平均每月在食品雜貨上花費 475 美元。

Over the last decade, menu prices at most major fast food restaurants have outpaced national inflation rates, according to research from Finance Buzz.

根據 Finance Buzz 的研究，在過去十年中，大多數大型速食店的餐點價格都超過了全國通膨率。

Popular fast food items like McDonald's McChicken and McDouble, Popeye's Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Taco Bell's Chalupa Supreme, and Wendy's Small Frosty have all doubled in price since 2014.

自 2014 年以來，麥當勞的麥香雞壞和麥克雙牛堡、Popeye 的馬鈴薯泥、Taco Bell 的船型墨西哥捲餅和溫蒂漢堡的薯條等受歡迎的速食食品的價格都翻了一番。

Executives on earning calls have taken notice of the high prices and have noted their growth in tech as a way to drive down prices and remain profitable.

公司高層們在盈利會議上已經注意到了高昂的價格，並指出他們在科技領域的增長是降低價格和保持盈利的途徑。

If we're doing a good job on the items and prices and the service we provide, saving them money with pickup and delivery, for example, we can continue to grow share.

如果我們在商品、價格和服務方面做得很好，比如通過取貨和送貨為他們省錢，我們就能繼續擴大份額。

So we're merchants at the core and we've added through the technological changes that we've made and the service changes that we've made, a dimension to the business that's driving that growth.

我們的核心是商人，我們通過技術變革和服務變革，增加了業務層面，從而推動了增長。

We're also investing for long-term growth in areas like digital and technology, as well as our transformation efforts within our global business services organization.

我們還為數位和技術等領域的長期發展進行投資，並在全球業務服務組織內進行轉型。

By leveraging the full strength of our global scale, we'll build new and modern capabilities and ultimately unlock speed and innovation for our entire McDonald's system.

通過充分利用我們的全球規模優勢，我們將建立全新的現代化能力，並最終為整個麥當勞系統帶來速度和創新。

The American consumer is starting to pull back on spending and rising food and labor costs are causing the food industry to invest more in automation to lower labor costs and improve sales, in order to stay competitive and take advantage of shifting consumer tastes.

美國消費者開始縮減開支，食品和勞動力成本上升，為了保持競爭力和利用消費者口味的變化，他們開始改善銷售。

[How AI and automation are taking over grocery stores and drive-thru lanes]

[AI和自動化如何接管雜貨店和得來速]

So the only way to square this circle really is to try and reduce costs, and that means automation.

唯一的辦法就是降低成本，也就是實現自動化。

So we will see many more ordering kiosks.

我們將看到更多的自動點餐機。

We'll see the use of AI at drive-thrus.

我們將看到 AI 在得來速的應用。

We'll see other areas of the business, including supply chains, become increasingly automated, all with a view of taking out the labor cost.

我們將看到，包括供應鏈在內的其他業務領域的自動化程度也在不斷提高，這一切都是為了降低勞動力成本。

Despite some grocery stores rolling back on self-checkout automation earlier in 2024, the same companies are now rolling out smart carts.

儘管一些雜貨店在 2024 年早些時候放棄了自助收銀自動化，但這些公司現在也在推出智慧購物車。

Amazon is now selling grocers its Dash carts, and this is a smart cart by Keeper Carts, which Instacart acquired in 2021.

亞馬遜現在向雜貨商出售其 Dash 購物車，這是 Instacart 於 2021 年收購的 Keeper Carts 公司生產的一款智慧購物車。

The carts are in large chains like Kroger and ShopRite.

這些購物車都在 Kroger 和 ShopRite 等大型連鎖店裡。

What's powerful about Keeper is all the sensors on the device.

Keeper 的強大之處在於設備上的所有傳感器。

So there's the camera sensors that look at the basket.

攝像頭傳感器會觀察籃子。

There's the weights and measure certified sensor, and then there's the location sensor.

有重量和測量認證傳感器，還有位置傳感器。

And so what retailers are excited about is leveraging those sensors to make sure that they know exactly what's inside the shopping cart.

零售商最感興趣的就是利用這些傳感器，確保他們清楚地知道購物車裡有什麼。

And so, for example, even if somebody were to hide an item, for example, and put it into the cart, we know with certainty that with the weights and measures scale that something went into the cart.

舉例來說，即使有人藏起一件物品，並把它放進秤裡，那件東西也會進入購物車。

Instacart also says the carts help customers stay within their grocery budgets.

Instacart 還表示，這種購物車能幫助客戶控制雜貨預算。

By having the running total, they're able to ensure that they stay on budget.

有了流水帳，他們就能確保不超出預算。

There's no apprehension that when you get to the checkout line, you're over budget and you have to have to put things back.

當你去結帳時，不會擔心預算超支，不得不把東西放回原處。

We're also seeing that customers really love the deals, coupon clipping capabilities on the cart.

我們還發現，客戶非常喜歡購物車上的優惠和優惠券剪裁功能。

And that's just the tip of the iceberg in the fast food sector.

而這只是速食業的冰山一角。

McDonald's and CaliExpress have opened fully autonomous stores that operate without human staff.

麥當勞和 CaliExpress 已經開設了完全自動化經營的門市，無需人工操作。

Because labor is one of the biggest costs for fast food players.

因為勞動力是速食企業最大的成本之一。

Yum! Brands has even developed a training app for employees.

百勝餐飲集團甚至為員工開發了一款培訓應用程式。

We've developed an internal mobile app called Super App that we've rolled out to over 9,000 restaurants across the world.

我們開發了一款名為「超級應用程式」的內部手機應用程式，並已向全球 9000 多家餐廳推廣。

And what it is, it's like having a digital coach in your pocket that helps our restaurant general managers identify areas that can continue to reduce costs of running a restaurant,

它就像你口袋裡的數位教練，幫助我們的餐廳總經理確定可以繼續降低餐廳營運成本的領域，

coach team members and being able to do their job more efficiently and really providing an overall better experience for us to make sure that there aren't any waste in inventory.

指導團隊成員更高效地完成工作，並為我們提供更好的整體體驗，確保庫存中沒有任何浪費。

The company's full portfolio includes popular food chains like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, and is heavily investing in automation.

該公司的全部產品組合包括必勝客、Taco Bell 和肯德基等廣受歡迎的食品連鎖店，並在自動化方面進行了大量投資。

Its digital business is booming, with its digital sales accounting for 50 percent of sales in Q1 of 2024, a first for the company.

其數位業務蓬勃發展，2024 年第一季度數字銷售額佔銷售額的 50%，這在該公司尚屬首次。

We can test any concept in a market, partner with a large tech giant and be able to test things like AI and Gen AI with our franchisees.

我們可以在市場上測試任何概念，與大型科技巨頭合作，能夠與我們的加盟商一起測試 AI 和 Gen AI 等東西。

And where test results have shown is that when customers interact with that voice AI, we're at parity when it comes to accuracy, we're at parity when it comes to being able to understand what the customers want.

測試結果表明，當客戶與語音 AI 互動時，我們在準確性方面不相上下，在理解客戶需求方面也不相上下。

And finally, customers are actually responding favorably, saying that the friendliness of voice AI is in some cases exceeding that of a human.

最後，顧客的反應實際上也很好，他們說語音 AI 的友好程度在某些情況下超過了人類。

[The risk and reward from the robots]

[機器人的風險與報酬]

72% of consumers actively use automated tech like self-checkout and contactless payment.

72% 的消費者積極使用手機結帳和非接觸式支付等自動化技術。

According to research firm Software Advice, they found that although consumers appreciate the speed and efficiency of automation, they're still hesitant to embrace it everywhere.

研究公司 Software Advice 發現，儘管消費者對自動化的速度和效率表示讚賞，但對於是否要在所有地方都採用自動化，他們仍然猶豫不決。

We can go in and make sure that a customer comes into the app and feels a personal touch where we know their name, we store their credit card information and make things easy to do.

我們可以進入應用程式，確保客戶在進入應用程式時能感受到我們的個人化服務，我們知道他們的姓名，存儲他們的信用卡資訊，並使操作變得簡單。

If we give them value through exclusive deals and promotions, unlocked our loyalty and app and we're able to really see them where they're at and be able to suggest things that they might enjoy.

如果我們通過獨家優惠和促銷給他們帶來價值，解鎖我們的忠誠度和應用程序，我們就能真正瞭解他們的情況，並向他們推薦他們可能喜歡的東西。

All this ends up being an experience that they come back for, and it's not just the food.

所有這些最終都會成為他們再次光臨的體驗，不僅僅是食物。

We're in the try it and see phase of a lot of these AI technologies.

對於很多 AI 技術來說，我們正處於嘗試和觀望階段。

Not only are companies testing new technologies, they're also testing customer reactions.

公司不僅要測試新技術，還要測試客戶的反應。

This is why some retailers are pulling back on self-checkout aisles.

這就是為什麼一些零售商正在縮減自助結帳機器。

Some customers have pushed back against that, which has meant that retailers have responded by reducing self-checkouts.

一些顧客對此表示反對，這意味著零售商通過減少自助結帳來應對。

With self-checkout, there are a lot more errors.

在自助結帳時，會出現更多錯誤。

People misscanning things, people may be deliberately not paying for things and putting them in their bag, and it costs retailers a lot of money.

顧客錯誤掃描商品、可能故意不付錢，把東西放進包裡，這讓零售商損失慘重。

And whilst they don't talk about theft a lot, it is one of the real reasons why people want to cut back on the use of self-checkout.

雖然他們並不經常談論盜竊問題，但這卻是人們希望減少使用自助結帳的真正原因之一。

But the other issue is that whilst self-checkout is liked by some people, it's absolutely hated by other people.

但另一個問題是，雖然有些人喜歡自助結帳，但另一些人卻非常討厭它。

It makes the customer do more of the work.

這讓客戶承擔了更多的工作。

And some people just don't like that, especially in a grocery store where you've got a lot of stuff to bag and scan.

有些人就是不喜歡這樣，尤其是在雜貨店裡，有很多東西需要裝袋和掃描。

And it's seen as a deterioration of the service.

這被視為服務品質的下降。

The reason why customers love Keeper is because of everything extending from the screen.

客戶之所以喜歡 Keeper，是因為螢幕上延伸出的一切。

It transformed shopping for being almost this utilitarian thing, a chore.

它使購物幾乎變成了一件功利性的事情，一件苦差事。

You go to the store as a chore to a shopping adventure.

你把去商店購物這件家事變成購物探險。

The tech isn't without challenges.

這項技術並非沒有挑戰。

The problem with smart carts is they're a very expensive and over engineered technology.

智慧推車的問題在於，它是一種非常昂貴且過度設計的技術。

You think about the number of carts an average supermarket has, that is going to cost an absolute fortune for most retailers to replace all those carts with smart carts.

想想看，一家普通超市有多少臺推車，如果把所有這些推車都換成智慧推車，對大多數零售商來說絕對是一筆不小的開支。

And it's not going to happen on scale.

而且，這種情況不會大規模發生。

While grocery retailers struggle with self-checkout, fast food chains are placing more and more self-service kiosks in restaurants.

當雜貨零售商在自助結帳方面苦苦掙扎的時候，快餐連鎖店卻在放置越來越多的自助點餐機在餐廳裡。

When customers come in, they love the ability to customize and as they have the ability to customize, we're finding that's also helping customers discover new products that we love for them to learn about.

當顧客來到店裡時，他們喜歡定製的功能，當他們有了定製的功能後，我們發現這也有助於顧客發現我們喜歡的新產品，讓他們瞭解這些產品。

And it's also helping us see bigger ticket size when it comes to our franchise unit economics.

這也幫助我們在特許經營單位經濟方面看到更大的交易規模。

We've seen ranges go from 18 percent higher to the use of kiosks up to 30 in some of our markets.

在我們的一些市場中，使用自助點餐機的範圍從 18% 增加到 30%。

And we think this is a win-win for both our customers and for us.

我們認為這對客戶和我們來說都是雙贏。

Retailors and fast food outlets can see the benefits, but some of the technology hasn't really proven itself.

我認為這項技術還沒有真正得到驗證。

There are glitches, there are things that retailers need to look at and to iron out.

自助點餐機會出現故障，零售商需要關注和解決一些問題。

[What's next?]

[接下來呢？]

Self-checkout is struggling at grocers.

自助結帳在雜貨店舉步維艱。

Self-service is booming for fast food.

自助服務在速食業蓬勃發展。

AI tech in shopping carts is being well received.

購物車中的 AI 技術廣受歡迎。

But AI in drive-thru faces many hurdles.

但是，AI 在得來速中的應用還面臨著許多障礙。

So where does technology go from here?

那麼，技術將何去何從？

We remain confident that as we take a look at pricing across our brands and our markets, we'll continue to partner and find ways to make sure we can address cost pressures and give customers the value they expect and know that the ominous brands will do.

我們仍然有信心，當我們審視我們品牌和市場的定價時，我們會繼續合作，找到方法以確保我們能夠應對成本壓力，並為客戶提供他們期望和了解的價值，這些著名品牌將會做到這一點。

In the future, you could imagine things like the Ask Instacart capability, where you could ask Instacart to budget you a full meal plan for the week.

未來，你可以想象「詢問 Instacart」這樣的功能，你可以要求 Instacart 為你預算一週的完整膳食計劃。

And you could imagine asking it to abide by certain dietary preferences that you have.

你還可以想象要求它遵守你的某些飲食偏好。

And then as you get to the store, you can take that and sink it to the cart and then chop it, chop it really seamlessly.

然後，當你到達商店時，你可以將其與購物車同步，然後非常順利地進行購物。

As automation grows, so do the concerns around job losses.

隨著自動化的發展，人們對失業的擔憂也在增加。

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecast a 2 percent drop in total retail jobs from 2022 to 2032.

據勞工統計局預測，從 2022 年到 2032 年，零售業工作崗位總數將下降 2%。

Still, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the industry will need more than 500,000 new workers each year to account for turnover.

儘管如此，美國勞工統計局預測，該行業每年仍需要 50 多萬名新工人來彌補人員流失。

In the fast food industry alone, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts job openings will grow by 2 percent, with one million new workers needed each year from 2022 to 2032.

據勞工統計局預測，僅快餐業的職位空缺就將增長 2%，從 2022 年到 2032 年，每年需要新增 100 萬名工人。

It's not like automation has replaced all of these jobs.

並不是所有這些工作都被自動化取代了。

I think the worry is that over time it will replace more of these jobs and it will lead to it becoming a lot more difficult for folks to get these entry level positions.

我認為，人們擔心的是，隨著時間的推移，它將取代更多的工作崗位，導致人們更難獲得這些初級職位。

We're not quite at that stage yet, but we are in danger of going there at some point in the future.

我們還沒到那個階段，但我們有可能在未來的某個時刻達到那個階段。

And a decision has to be taken as to how we deal with that.

我們必須決定如何處理這個問題。

Now, it's possible that grocery chains and other retailers will create other roles.

現在，雜貨連鎖店和其他零售商有可能創造其他角色。

There could be customer service facing roles, more associates wandering the aisles to help customers find things.

可以設立面向顧客的服務崗位，讓更多的員工在貨架上徘徊，幫助顧客尋找物品。

So we could see these roles replaced with different types of positions.

我們可以看到這些角色被不同類型的職位所取代。

But the danger is that some of these traditional positions might disappear because ultimately, retailers do want to reduce costs and automation gives them a way to do that.

但危險在於，其中一些傳統職位可能會消失，因為零售商最終確實希望降低成本，而自動化為他們提供了實現這一目標的途徑。

What we do believe is that technology can play a really big role in empowering our team members to spend more time on valuable activities, like spending time with the customer.

我們相信，技術可以發揮巨大作用，讓我們的團隊成員有更多時間從事有價值的活動，比如與客戶共度美好時光。

And technology can help in areas that our customers really value, things like improving order accuracy, reducing the wait time, increasing the speed at drive-thru.

技術可以在客戶真正看重的方面提供幫助，比如提高訂單準確性、減少等待時間、提高自動售貨機的速度等。

We see a lot of upside over the next several years with AI and technology being able to enhance customer experience while making the team members job a lot easier.

我們認為，在未來幾年裡，AI 和技術將帶來巨大的發展空間，不僅能提升客戶體驗，還能讓團隊成員的工作變得更加輕鬆。

That longer term vision we have that on a five to 10 year horizon, customers shouldn't have to choose between shopping online and in-store.

我們的長期願景是，在 5 到 10 年的時間裡，顧客不應該在網上購物和實體店購物之間做出選擇。

It'll be one single personalized mode, all powered by Instacart.

這將是一個單一的個人化模式，全部由 Instacart 提供支持。

While food prices do remain an important part of a customer's decision, we believe that the experience that they have digitally is going to be a key differentiator.

雖然食品價格仍然是顧客做出決定的重要依據，但我們相信，顧客的數位體驗將成為區別於其他顧客的關鍵因素。

Today, customers want more than just the meal.

如今，顧客需要的不僅僅是餐點。

They're looking for personalized, easy, frictionless experiences.

他們正在尋求個個人化、便捷、無摩擦的體驗。

And for us, that's what we're investing so heavily into things like AI, self-service kiosks, drive-thru, and other things that can help automate a lot of the work that goes on.

對我們來說，這就是我們大力投資 AI、自助點餐機、得來速和其他有助於實現大量自動化工作的原因。