Restaurant Payment Technologies

Restaurants are providing today’s mobile-wielding customers a wider menu of payment technology options. They’re serving up convenience, speed, and control—and changing the way people interact with their favorite restaurant brands. Why? Because they want to gobble up additional market share and be among the first out of the gates to win hungry customers’ loyalty and dining-out dollars.

More Technology on the Plate

There are generally two ways restaurants are using technology to enhance customers’ dining experience:

At-the-Table. A tablet on the table allows access to the menu, announces specials, lists nutrition values, takes orders, and can even offer games and present the bill. Chili’s restaurants feature table tablets for ordering, payment, and more.

Mobile or Online. Customers can use a website or mobile app such as those of Subway and Starbucks to place food and drink orders—and even pay—ahead of arriving at the store for pickup. Most apps offer maps so customers can find the nearest store and give real-time insights into potential wait times.

Opportunities for Order, Pay, and Pickup

With the proliferation of mobile app usage and perennial competitiveness within the industry, the marketplace is ripe for tech-driven differentiation. In A Secular Shift To Online Food Ordering, TechCrunch.com explores the huge opportunity investors see in the surprisingly underpenetrated market.

Consider the following cited stats:

• The takeout and delivery market is a $70 billion market, and of that, only about $9 billion is online (Wall Street Research Reports and Public Company Filings)
• Somewhere around 2022, online ordering will begin to eclipse offline ordering (Cowen and Company Research Report)

The article points to a lack of awareness among consumers that services like GrubHub exist—and that most people still pick up the telephone to place food orders. If the food-ordering paradigm is expected to shift over the next six to eight years, a whole lot of customers need to open their apps and start ordering. And for that to happen, restaurants need to know their customers’ needs and effectively promote solutions.

That’s great to hear, because making an investment in mobile order and pay technology clearly yields a favorable ROI. Why Mobile (Pay) Ordering Actually Matters on PYMNTS.com brings to light that companies offering mobile order and pay capabilities are seeing positive results:

• Starbucks has seen a 100% increase in unique visitor trend in a two-year period
• Dunkin’ Donuts has seen an astonishing 456% increase in the same two-year time period
• Customers that use this tend to be Argo Tea’s most loyal customers and drive a disproportionate amount of their sales

What’s to Gain

Restaurants taking advantage of order and pay technology are accomplishing three main goals:

1. Meeting Customer Preferences
More and more people today use smart devices—and they’re accustomed to the on-demand convenience of mobile tech. Restaurants’ apps offer customers the little extras that make a difference today, like easy order customization, special offers or deals, and access to information and resources they may not have through traditional order and pay channels (e.g. full menu details and games).

2. Strengthening experience with Brand
Online and mobile tools to make the dining experience better, faster, or whatever else the customer is looking for while eating on-the-go. Not only are satisfied customers more likely to come back for more, but when their loyalty programs are integrated into the self-service order and pay process, they have added incentive to revisit their favorite dining spots.

3. Improving In-Restaurant Workflow
There’s an obvious operational impact of employing order and pay technology. For some restaurants, it will increase table turnover; for others, it will reduce pressure on cashiers and wait staff. It’s also bound to boost ordering speed and help manage lines. At the same time, digitizing the process increases consumer interaction, decreases costs, and captures customer data that can be used for business intelligence efforts.

Stay tuned for more insights into how the restaurant industry is taking payments to the next level—and changing the way people interact with their favorite brands.