How tech has helped the restaurant industry

JustEat is one of the many technologies that have helped shape the restaurant industry in recent years, increasing their profitability and accessibility to customers.

Table of Contents

We take a look at how tech has improved the business management, customer service and customer experience:

Managing inventory

From the customer point of view, there’s no doubting that the whole experience has been improved through technology, but what the customers don’t see behind the scenes has drastically improved as well. Stock levels are now reliant on technology for accuracy. This has allowed them greater visibility of their assets almost immediately. Employees can directly submit and view their inventory via a device, leading to greater efficiency and accuracy.

Deals and Special offers

The internet is a great place to let your potential customers know of any great deals that you have available. This could be the difference from them choosing you or going to a competitor. Flyers are another great way to get your deals in front of your intended audience,

Flaunting your special offers online is a great way to draw the customers’ attention and beat your competitors. Another way that can be just as affective is getting flyers in front of your potential customers, because of this a lot of local restaurants take advantage of leaflet delivery services. On such leaflets, many establishments involve an online discount code in order to entice the recipients to visit or order from them.

Fast food

Mobile ordering makes it easy for customer to impulse buy, another way technology has been taken advantage of by restaurants, and thanks to JustEat, browsing takeaways, making and paying for your order is easier than ever.

£1.9 billion was spent on fast food in 2017, which clocked over 10 million people placing orders through the app increasing their revenue by 45%.

Technology doesn’t show any sign of slowing down and restaurants are likely to continue using the most up to date tech to help them grow. For those who don’t choose to pursue these technologies it’s possible the end could be closer than they think.

Booking system

You used to have to ring up the restaurant to secure yourself a table in years gone by and during busy time you’d sometimes be waiting a while to get through to the person taking the bookings. Even worse, you may have turned up to the restaurant and had to wait in the lobby. This is a major dissatisfaction to customers which will sour their overall experience.

Reservation managers and online booking systems have been a big game changer in this area. Now, customers can simply click on the relevant tab on a restaurant’s site or app and reserve a table for a time that suits them, thus improving the customer service from the restaurant.

These systems are 24-hour service, which means customers can book at any time that suits them, meaning you’re more likely to get more bookings and are able to save on man power. With such a tool, it’s likely that you’ll have data available to you that can keep track of every reservation, allowing you to plan and grow your business.

Payment methods

You can now use your bank card to easily purchase your meal by using the card machines that restaurants provide. No longer do you have to carry cash on you to buy food. There’s more of a chance you being able to upsell your products as customers won’t be worried about how much physical cash they have on their person.Research has found that there is a higher willingness-to-pay when debit/credit cards are used instead of cash. This is especially the case when it comes to treating yourself and eating unhealthy food due to impulsive buying.

Social media

If a customer enjoys the service they get and the food they eat they’re likely to come back in future. So food and staff are key to having customers continuing to come through the door. Thanks to social media analytics you can discover exactly what customers are looking for and tailor your business to these desires.

Feedback and Ratings

Trip Advisor is one of many sites that give feedback and ratings on a number of different things including hotels, restaurants, experiences etc. and receiving high marks and good feedback can really increase the amount of people through the door at restaurants. A lot of people may not of heard about your business, but great reviews are hard to ignore and can shun them your way.

Gaining customer appreciation and having a connection between customer and brand is a key factor as to why restaurants use social media interaction. However, if you’re unable to respond to all replies, self-service analytics tools allow you to collate all responses so that you can get the overall feel of the public and what it is they’re saying.