Why McDonald’s is ditching its self-serve soda machines

Want one of McDonald’s unnaturally crisp Sprites? Well, it may be time to pull out your McDonald’s app or buckle up and hit the drive-thru. According to a new report from CNN Business, the international chain will begin phasing out its dining room self-service soda machines with the ultimate goal of eliminating them completely by 2032. 

The company first introduced the self-service soda machines in 2004, allowing customers to fill and refill their own drinks. However, according to several franchise owners in Illinois who have already made the change, food safety, theft prevention and a lack of dine-in customers impacted the decision. “It’s an evolution towards convenience and (the result of) the growth of digital service,” Mikel Petro, who operates 15 McDonald’s throughout central Illinois with his wife and in-laws, told the State Journal-Register. 

Consumer behavior changed during the pandemic — resulting in an increase in digital, delivery and drive-thru orders — and, per CNN, McDonald’s is shifting to accommodate that new reality. The chain also plans to debut a concept called  “CosMc’s,” small-format locations with reduced dining rooms. According to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski, that development “opens up for us a whole bunch of development opportunities for us to go after.”