CHICAGO — McDonald’s Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire Dynamic Yield, a company specializing in personalization and decision logic technology based in New York and Tel Aviv, Israel. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
McDonald’s plans to use Dynamic Yield’s decision technology to provide a more personalized customer experience, the fast-food company said. The technology will allow McDonald’s to vary its outdoor digital drive-thru menu displays to show food based on time of day, weather, current restaurant traffic and trending menu items. The decision technology also may instantly suggest and display additional items to customers’ orders based on their current selections.
McDonald’s tested the Dynamic Yield platform in a number of U.S. restaurants in 2018, and U.S. locations will be the first to integrate the technology upon closing of the acquisition. McDonald’s will then roll out the technology to international markets. The company also plans to integrate the decision technology into all of its customer experience touchpoints, including self-order kiosks and the McDonald’s global mobile app.
“Technology is a critical element of our Velocity Growth Plan, enhancing the experience for our customers by providing greater convenience on their terms,” said Stephen J. Easterbrook, president and chief executive officer of McDonald’s Corp. “With this acquisition, we’re expanding both our ability to increase the role technology and data will play in our future and the speed with which we’ll be able to implement our vision of creating more personalized experiences for our customers.”
Upon closing of the acquisition, McDonald’s will become the sole owner of Dynamic Yield. The technology company will remain a stand-alone entity, and its employees will continue to operate out of its office around the world. Dynamic Yield also will continue to serve its current clients and seek to attract future clients.
“We started Dynamic Yield seven years ago with the premise that customer-centric brands must make personalization a core activity,” said Liad Agmon, co-founder and c.e.o. of Dynamic Yield. “We’re thrilled to be joining an iconic global brand such as McDonald’s and are excited to innovate in ways that have a real impact on people’s daily lives.”