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How Technology Is Changing the Restaurant Industry
Restaurants are turning to technology to help them survive in the “new normal” of COVID variants, supply-chain issues and staffing shortages.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed not only daily life, but also the way that restaurants operate. With a heavy focus on sanitation and preventing the spread of the potentially deadly virus, restaurant owners were forced to turn to technology for contactless communication and interactions with customers. Now, it appears that technology is here to stay, as a digitally driven world adjusts to a new normal.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, about 87% of restaurant operators believe that turning to and adopting new technology since the onset of the pandemic is what has allowed their businesses to survive amidst staffing shortages, health and safety protocols, and supply-chain issues.
In the midst of all these changes, it’s clear the adoption of technology is essential to restaurants’ survival.
Three Technology Trends Helping Restaurants Survive in 2022
With a new year, and a new COVID-19 variant upon us, there are several ways in which industry employees and customers can expect technology to remain a significant part of their dining experience.
Nation’s Restaurant News said that contactless ordering and service will be the new standard when it comes to interacting with customers. This must-have service includes QR code menus as well as self-pay options that are installed at tables to allow customers to pay their tab without the help of a server.
“More and more of the business of running a restaurant — from ordering to payment — has been put in the hands of the customer,” Nation’s Restaurant News stated. “Many customers appreciated this aspect of ‘the new normal’ because they enjoy having a degree of control over their own dining experience.”
Ghost kitchens are also a restaurant technology trend that appears to have caught on in such a useful way for operators that they are likely to remain as an integral part to restaurant success in 2022. A ghost kitchen is a hybrid model that focuses on takeout or drive-thrus but offers no indoor seating options for customers, allowing operators to run the business without wait staff or the costs associated with running a dining room. Restaurant Business Online said a recent Deloitte survey found that more than 80% of consumers have no issues with using a ghost kitchen.
A third restaurant technology trend expected to take off in 2022 is the importance of unique customer loyalty programs. While the programs themselves are not new to the industry, the way in which they can bring back repeat customers through apps is what caught on during the continued pandemic. As inflation causes restaurants to evaluate their menu prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expecting grocery prices to rise as much as 2.5% and food-away-from-home prices to go up as much as 4%. This rise in the cost to eat out makes going out to eat less attractive than eating at home; however, if restaurants are able to offer loyalty programs that offer discounts and rewards, customers are more likely to turn to that when thinking about what to do for dinner.
Nation’s Restaurant News reported that a survey of over 1,500 Americans found that 69% of respondents said incentives from loyalty programs encourage them to frequent a restaurant more often. Additionally, pay-at-the-table solutions allow for better use of loyalty and reward programs.
“Restaurants that have implemented a pay-at-the-table solution have the capability of integrating loyalty and reward programs automatically when paying their bill, via an easy-to-use self-service interface at the point of payment,” said Nation’s Restaurant News. “In a time when restaurants are operating with reduced staff, this seamless approach puts no extra burden on employees, because customers can scan, pay, collect or redeem points, and go, without any assistance from staff.”
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