Digital Technology Innovations have been growing ever since the pandemic when restaurant owners had to improvise and think outside the box. However, the amount of new innovations we now have to offer is incredible, all restaurants should jump on these immediately.
Online ordering system and delivery apps
The food delivery market is now worth more than $150 billion globally, which has more than tripled since 2017 largely attributed to the pandemic, according to statistics from McKinsey. Many restaurants incorporated an online ordering system and used third-party food delivery apps even before the pandemic. Since online ordering is rising and fewer people are coming and sitting in the restaurant this is a great way to get more business for your restaurant. Some third-party food delivery apps are Uber Eats, Grub Hub, Door Dash, etc. In addition, food delivery robots and drones are now being used to deliver food up to a certain location around the area of the restaurant.
Contactless Payment
This is the ability to pay with a mobile device or a touchless device and this has become extremely popular. New payment technologies have been slowly gaining momentum within the global restaurant industry, but this trend has accelerated with the pandemic. It’s estimated that contactless payments will triple from $2 trillion to $6 trillion worldwide by 2024, and having such options is reportedly extremely important for 34% of customers. Contactless payment solutions help you keep your guests safe and secure by letting them tap or swipe to pay for their orders without having to touch any cash.
Online Table Reservation System
The ability to book a table reservation online without having to call the restaurant helps people out tremendously especially when they have busy schedules. Some apps that use this are Opentable, Eatapp, or Tablein. Potential customers can see available slots during the week and times that are available for reservations depending on the party size.
Digital Kitchen ‘boards’
These are a paper and pen savers for servers! It is all electronic and made to be easier on the server and customers. When going up to a table and getting their order, you can put it in right through your device and it will automatically send it through the POS system to the bartender for drinks and to the kitchen for the food. This makes life easier for the servers, with less running around, more accurate orders, and overall better communication.
Self-order kiosks
Now, let me first start off by saying that these won’t work in all restaurants. These are more for a typical fast-food restaurant. It allows the customer to order exactly what they want right away without waiting for anyone to take their order. This helps with upselling items because they see all the options on the menu with pictures included so they’re allowed to go back and add something whenever they want. This helps with shorter lines at the counter making it less stressful for the workers. There is better accuracy of the order because the customers are putting in the order themselves. In the 2019 Restaurant Success Report, 53% of guests marked self-ordering kiosks as either somewhat important or extremely important to their guest experience
QR Codes for Dining
QR codes made a comeback during the pandemic and they are here to stay. They are easier and cleaner. You can just capture it on your phone through the camera app and go right to the online menu. You can also order and pay right at the table with a QR code. This is very modernized because it allows the customers to pay through a QR code that will leave them with putting their card in the phone or using apple pay. It makes it easier to use contactless payment and it gives the option to split with people at the table. 33% of guests said that pay at the table technology is extremely important to their dining experiences.
High-tech feedback symptoms
Collect and respond directly to customers’ feedback whether it is positive or negative. This encourages communication between the restaurant and customers.
Table-top ordering system
This is similar to contactless menus, however, it’s a kiosk on your table where you can look through the menu with pictures to choose what you want to drink and eat. Orders that are placed through the system go straight back to the kitchen so the server doesn’t physically need to take their order. A positive thing about these is many have free games on them so when you bring children to the restaurant, it will keep them occupied until the food comes out.
A restaurant owned mobile app
You can easily place food orders through the app. It will increase the number of orders, but also increase brand awareness. Advancements of an app include better audience reach, enhanced customer experience, targeted customer offers, hassle-free order management, and improved return visits.
