Lately, restaurants are all talking about the “experience” that they provide to customers. They know that their stores must provide more than just products and food; today’s consumers want their outings to positively buzz with entertainment and fun. And young families absolutely demand special experiences for their children.

In a recent Business Insider article, reporter Hayley Peterson shared some statistics that could seem alarming to McDonald’s franchise owners:

“Families with a child age 12 or under represent 14.6% of McDonald’s customers today, down from 18.6% in 2011, according to Technomic.”

“But executives are ignoring this problem and instead focusing on other initiatives to revive lagging sales, such as paring down the menu and speeding up customer service, Shoulberg writes.”

“One of the foundations of the McDonald’s corporate juggernaut has always been its catering to young families with kids,” he writes. “Yet nowhere in any of its announcements about new plans is there much mention of appealing to kids and even if there were, therein lies the fatal flaw in any McDonald’s turnaround.”

I’m here to tell you that reports of McDonald’s decline are highly premature (to loosely quote Mark Twain). Savvy McDonald’s owner operators know exactly what they need to do in order to keep attracting the all-important young family: entertain them!

Smart McDonald’s franchise owners know this and are already ahead of the curve. The others just need to jump on board.

Yes, it is hard to increase sales year over year. You can’t always fit more people in the restaurant during busy times like lunch hour… but you always have open seats from 10 am to 12 noon, and 2 pm to 4 pm!

This is where the entertainment factor comes in. Restaurant owners looking for ways to increase sales need to think outside the box. If you’re only thinking about ways to serve more people during your normal meal times, you’re missing out on an opportunity to attract a very important audience. Stay-at-home moms and dads need to get out of their homes. If you install a clean, safe play area, you give families a reason to visit, which increases traffic and sales.

Soft Play, the global provider of soft, interactive playground equipment, has been creating safe, clean play areas for restaurants for many years. And, as an approved McDonald’s supplier, Soft Play understands the family restaurant industry well.

Moms, dads and even grandparents need a place to take young kids during the day. We’ve seen it time and time again: a restaurant installs a play area and suddenly they have groups of parents gathering for play dates during off-peak times when the restaurant is less crowded.

Additionally, Soft Play’s playground elements are certified naturally antibacterial, a feature that is so unique that the company’s play elements are frequently used in hospitals and healthcare clinics where health and safety are absolutely critical.

Soft Play is also ideal for restaurants with limited space and low ceilings.

We understand the space and budget limitations that restaurant owners face. We’ve developed innovative play solutions specifically for the market. We even have easy-to-install, wall-mounted play elements and computer games that attract kids of all ages.