What is restaurant technology news?
Restaurant technology news is a type of news that covers the latest and greatest technological advances in the restaurant industry. This type of news can be found in many different places, including online news sites, trade magazines, and even some blogs. Restaurant technology news can help restaurant owners and managers stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the industry. It can also help them find new and innovative ways to use technology to improve their businesses and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of restaurant management.
Restaurant Technology News- 7 Trends That Are Helping Improve Guest Satisfaction
The Background
Ever since 2020, restaurants have been beset with a string of problems. It started with the pandemic and moved on to geopolitical conflicts, inflation, and tighter federal regulations. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), 96% of restaurant business operators experienced supply delays or shortage of key food or beverage items in 2021. Their 2022 annual report said that 51% of adults weren't eating at restaurants as often as they'd like to. In addition, food, labor, and occupancy costs were expected to remain elevated and would continue to impact restaurant profit margins. Half the restaurant operators interviewed believe it would take another year or more for business conditions to normalize again.
Scores of restaurant businesses bit the dust during these years, but many also managed to stay afloat. Some, on the other hand, did phenomenally well! It's no surprise that the ones that demonstrated agility and resilience adapted quickly to the change by adopting new restaurant technologies. As every restaurant industry news article today points out, technology is the best way to bring customers back and reduce losses. It doesn't just provide solutions to current problems, it also adds value to the customer experience.
In this article we take a look at some of the top technologies that are helping the restaurant industry find its feet again.
Restaurant Technology Trend No. 1- Artificial Intelligence
The food industry has leveraged technology before, but having reached the tipping point now has forced it to exploit it to the hilt. Artificial Intelligence (AI) underpins much of this technology and has become integral to restaurant operations.
During the pandemic, as most foodservice businesses grappled with acute labor shortage, they switched to AI-backed, self-service modes of taking orders. A.I. enabled restaurants to automate simple and routine tasks like making reservations and entering orders into the point-of-sale (POS) system, simplifying and speeding up the ordering process, including Online Ordering, and personalizing customer experience. That's not all. Next-gen AI-powered self-service kiosks can even detect a customer's age, attention level, and mood with the help of its cameras, and recommend appropriate menu selections based on what they see.
Post-Covid, the restaurant industry is racing back to recovery on the back of several new innovations.
This article lists the biggest game-changers of 2022.
Restaurant Technology Trend No. 2 - Mobile Apps
Thanks to online ordering, restaurants can now serve a large number of customers at once. Instead of waiting to place an order on site, or being put on hold on the phone, customers can use a restaurant's mobile app to place their order from any place at any timeand in seconds.
Mobile apps are like Swiss army knives with functions that can adapt to different situations and environments. For example, research shows that cashless transactions are more efficient and convenient than cash transactions. So when mobile apps make it easier for customers to use their phones to pay, they end up ordering more often.
An app's appeal is greater when it offers loyalty programs, rewards and discounts. Operators should however keep their app content light, with just the right number of options to keep customers engaged. These could include games that customer play in exchange for reward points and new deals announcements.
An app can be taken to greater heights when powered by artificial intelligence. Take, for instance, Domino's recent partnership with Netflix to release an app that promoted the fourth season of the hit show Stranger Things. The app used facial recognition to allow customers to order a specific pizza by only thinking about it, much like Eleven, the telekinetic character from the show.
Restaurant Technology Trend No. 3- Kitchen Display System
Restaurants are chaotic places, with staff running around trying to get their work done. In this melee, handwritten order slips are bound to get damaged or lost. Or they may just be indecipherable because of bad handwriting. What results is order inaccuracy and mix-ups. A Kitchen Display System (KDS) eliminates such issues by efficiently displaying all orders on an easy-to-read, bright display screen that also serves as a data depository.
Kitchen staff will have customer details, including their preferences for special ingredients, and dietary restrictions, at their fingertips. These details can help a restaurant serve the right meal to the right customer at the right time. It also helps keep track of changes in orders in real time as alterations are relayed to the kitchen staff the moment the customer requests them.
A KDS is a cool tool that integrates with the restaurant's POS system. It monitors order volume and inventory levels, alerts you when these levels fall and ensure that stocks are replenished in time. This system is an invaluable tool to help combat food waste, maintain high service standards and, most importantly, ensure customer satisfaction.
Restaurant Technology Trend No. 4- Digital Menu Display
Digital menu boards have become the mainstay of most restaurants, particularly QSRs, helping them improve customer service, expedite order time, and increase efficiency. The demand for digital menu boards skyrocketed during the pandemic, when following Covid-19 protocols, in-person ordering fell and customers started using these boards in the drive-thru lane. Digital menu boards soon became more than just a convenience.
Restaurants should drive up the number of touch-points they have at their drive-thrus, like ordering screens and payment machines, in order to connect and engage with more customers. Of course, the hardware is only the orchestra's instrument. It's up to the restaurant to ensure that the various strands of its its digital marketing work together to create something beautiful for its customers.
Many restaurants are integrating AI systems into their digital menus to recommend specific menu items to customers ordering at their drive-thrus. For example, the New York Times reported that roughly half of Burger King's digital menu boards utilize Deep Flame A.I. technology to target popular items in the area on a given day. It also uses external factors, such as the weather, to spotlight items like an iced coffee on a hot day. Restaurant Brands International, which owns Popeye's, Tim Hortons and Burger King, announced that it planned to install 'predictive selling' at 10,000 drive-thrus to match menu displays with previous orders based on loyalty account information.
You've been badly hit by the pandemic, and are wondering how to improve your business.
Adopting these restaurant trends could turn your fortunes around.
Restaurant Technology Trend No. 5- Q.R. Codes
QR codesthose little black and white squares you see on ads, signs and productswere first used as a tracking tool for auto parts. In the 2000s, they were written off as a gimmick; now, they're among the most widely adopted Restaurant Trends in the country. Upgraded for the present day, and appearing on everything, from menus to napkins, cups to tablecloths, Q.R. codes make ordering and paying easier.
If experts from the restaurant world are to be believed, QR codes are here to stay. According to a survey by the NRA, 52% of customers find these codes a convenient way to order food at restaurants. As for restaurants themselves, Q.R. codes help track consumer behavior, with the analytics behind those black-and-white squares providing useful data on repeat customers and ordering time. Moreover, their self-ordering and self-payment features have helped to overcome the challenges thrown up by labor shortage.
Driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, which accelerated the shift to touch-free payment and paperless menu options, Q.R. codes also allowed brands to connect with consumers in new ways. Consumers have always been inquisitive about what they're getting into, so for brands to include a call to action alongside their Q.R. code is a great strategy. Messages like 'Scan me', 'Connect with us on social', 'Check out our story', 'Discover favorite recipes', or 'A guide to our bestselling recipe', are some of the interesting ways that encourage the consumer to scan the Q.R. code and begin a new relationship with the brand that's engaging and rewarding. It is here that consumers merge their physical and digital brand experiences.
Restaurant Technology Trend No. 6- Cloud-based Solutions
The most significant outcome of the use of restaurant technology is the rise of data-driven decision-making. This can be attributed to the widespread adoption of cloud-based solutions. With all the information collected through point-of-sale systems, mobile apps and Q.R. codes, restaurants are using data analytics tools to understand their customers better and make more informed decisions about menu design, pricing, promotions, and much more. Understanding customer behavior patterns allows operators to provide more personalized service to them.
Software as a Service or SaaS is the latest buzzword in restaurant technology. It's rapidly replacing old-fashioned on-premise solutions, and for good reason- SaaS offers several advantages for restaurants, including lower up-front costs, easier upgrades, more flexibility in terms of scalability, and depending on the provider, mobile apps that give restaurateurs the tools they need to manage their business from anywhere. For instance, Zip POS Dashboard from the restaurant app store Hubworks, processes a restaurant's POS data to provide snapshots of trends, sales and other metrics, and offers sharp business insights. Having easy and immediate access to its core stats and figures allows a restaurant to take its business to even greater heights.
Restaurant Technology Trend No. 7- Online Ordering & Delivery
The last few years have been dominated by a host of challenges that have tapped the industry dry. The cost of most products has doubled, in some cases even tripled, because of inflation (projected to be between 8% and 10% in 2022) and the supply chain crisis. Add to this, increased labor cost, store construction, set-up costs, and rent. Not to forget shifting consumer behavior that has been leaning towards ordering in instead of dining in.
Instead of capitulating, though, the industry has found unique ways around these problems. Of all the strategies it has employed to cut costs, the most inventive has been the move to cut down on property expenses by downsizing to smaller spaces or ghost kitchens. This move has coincided nicely with the growing popularity of online ordering and delivery. Restaurants can now save on space by operating smaller venues, and funnel their funds into tech solutions like online ordering and delivery platforms.
This, in turn, has promoted third-party delivery networks. For instance, Waitr, a restaurant delivery service, has expanded rapidly to 1000 U.S. cities in the last year. Others, like Uber Eats and DoorDash, have taken big strides too.
DoorDash's Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report 2022, which surveyed over 1,500 consumers in the U.S., found that delivery and takeout continue to garner preference. Capitalizing on this trend, DoorDash acquired food delivery service Wolt in a whopping $8 billion deal.
These developments are mirrored in changing customer behavior. Prior to 2021, customers keen to eat out, first thought about calling on restaurants around them. In 2022, 60% of consumers tap a food delivery app or website, while 35% head directly to a restaurant's app or website. It signals a shift to a digitally transformed way of ordering and delivering, which brings more restaurants within the customer's reach, and vice-versa!
You need to stay up to date with the latest trends in the restaurant industry.
This article will have you covered. It tells you what the latest innovations are, so you can adopt them at your own restaurant.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the latest technology that are available in current restaurant industry?
Some of the latest technology available in the restaurant industry includes point of sale systems that allow customers to order and pay for their food directly from their table, as well as mobile apps that allow customers to place orders and track their food as it is being prepared. Additionally, many restaurants are now using social media platforms to promote their business and interact with customers.
What are the present trends in the restaurant?
The present trends in the restaurant industry are focusing on healthy and sustainable dining options. This includes locally sourced ingredients, organic food, and vegan and vegetarian options. Restaurants are also becoming more casual, with a focus on providing a relaxed and comfortable dining experience.
How is technology affecting the restaurant industry?
The restaurant industry is being affected by technology in a number of ways. One way is that technology is making it easier for customers to find restaurants and make reservations. Another way is that technology is helping restaurants to manage their inventory and orders more efficiently. Additionally, technology is providing new opportunities for restaurants to market themselves to potential customers.