The quick service restaurant (QSR), industry in the United States was said to be worth a sum of approximately 256 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. QSRs, otherwise known as limited service restaurants (LSRs), are establishments that typically serve food quickly and do not provide table service. Variations on the quick service concept mainly consist of fast causal restaurants, food trucks, kiosks and smaller hole-in-the-wall establishments. The U.S. is undeniably the founder of modern-day quick service restaurants. In the U.S., all states are home to QSRs’ – in 2018, California accounted for the highest number, while the least populous state, Wyoming, accounted for the least.

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The fast food industry keeps growing despite the general public’s newfound surge to go organic and healthy. McDonald’s is the most popular in this field, no surprise there, although one data below puts it in an interesting perspective.

• The fast food industry revenue in the US alone makes about $110 billion annually. (Staticbrain)

• 50 million Americans eat fast food every day (Staticbrain)

• A complete fast food meal is 37% of your daily calories (Static Brain)

• McDonald’s is more recognized than the Christian Cross. (Marketingweek)

• Fast food restaurants are expected to keep growing at 2% annually through 2020. (Statista)

• There are nearly 200,000 fast food franchises in the US as of 2018 (Statista 2018)

Since fast food’s introduction in 1921, it has become one of America’s preferred ways to dine. One of the reasons service in these establishments is fast is thanks to their POS systems that keep lines short.

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