外国快餐巨头走向数字化

 　　cDonald's, the world's largest fast-food hamburger chain, is providing Shanghai customers with the opportunity to craft their own burgers with touchscreen kiosks.

　　The "Create Your Taste" campaign was launched by the company at the end of June to let people choose ingredients for their burgers from self-ordering kiosks.

　　Though the customized meal set is much more expensive than McDonald's usual combo, many customers have been attracted and are giving it a try.

　　"It's a lot of fun, and you can't get it elsewhere. Here, I can choose from a large number of ingredients and leave out those I don't like. I think it's cool and different."

　　外国快餐巨头走向数字化

　　Elsewhere, KFC has teamed up with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to allow customers in Beijing, Shanghai and the province of Zhejiang to pay for their meals using mobile payment tool Alipay.

　　Many consumers believe the new service will add convenience to their dining experience at KFC restaurants.

　　"Sometimes I don't have enough cash with me when I am shopping, so I would ask if a store accepts Alipay mobile payment. Whether a shop accepts it affects my decision as to which shop I will visit, as it is more convenient if it does."

　　These digital services are viewed by many as the latest move by foreign fast-food chains to prop¹ up sluggish² sales in China.

　　Hao Fangfang, a senior analyst³ at iResearch, says the change in customer preferences in the fast-food business is a major reason for declining sales.

　　"The herd⁴ behavior was often found in public consumption behavior in the decade starting 2000. But what those born after 1985 or even 1990 pursue is individuality, uniqueness and being different. That's why the once massively popular fast-food chains have been losing ground to those offering niche⁵ services like theme restaurants."

　　She also warns that digital services alone are not enough to help them restore growth.

　　Other than meeting customers' needs, business decisions and better management are required also.

　　With more than 130,000 offline businesses across China accepting Alipay mobile payments, going digital is now becoming the major trend in China's retail⁶ sectors⁷.

　　For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》