4 Reasons You Should Keep up With the Online Ordering Boom
The benefits of online ordering systems for restaurants and customers are becoming increasingly evident every day. Consumer data released by Barclaycard in January this year shows that takeaway food in all its forms is growing at a rapid rate, whilst people are spending less and less in brick and mortar restaurants. Not only that, but today’s diners (especially Millennials and Gen Z) are opting to use the internet to order food rather than picking up the phone. Just over the pond in America, orders placed via smartphone and mobile apps are set to become a $38 billion industry this year!
If you’re still not convinced about making the leap to offer online ordering, here are 5 reasons why we believe you and your restaurant should keep up with the online ordering boom:
- It offers convenience for your customers
Going digital will undeniably make ordering easier for customers. In a time-poor society, online ordering has stepped in to make things easier for us all. With online delivery, or even online click-and-collect, you are removing the need for customers to take a big chunk of time out of their day as was required with traditional takeaway orders where customers would go in, choose their food, wait for it to be prepared and then finally receive their order and leave.
Now, anyone can pick up their phone, press a few buttons and pick up their food on the way back from work, or organise it to be delivered exactly 10-minutes after they walk through the door. Plus, customers who order and pay online don’t require a restaurant employee to process their order, allowing restaurants to take more orders faster and thus move their attention to other matters, such as improving food quality and delivering excellent customer service.
- It’s a trend which is expected to last
As we enter a new decade, it looks as though the food delivery hype is here to stay. The food-to-go sector is growing at almost twice the rate of the overall economy, an alarmingly rapid incline driven by urban consumers’ desire for convenience. MCA Insight predicts that the market will be worth £9.8 billion by 2021, and it’s important to note that over half of home delivery and takeaway orders are now placed online. In today’s crowded restaurant space, there is no margin for error. If you want to succeed, you must meet the needs of your clientele and those establishments who are lagging on the online ordering front will be left behind in favour of restaurants who have stepped up. It’s as simple as that.
- Online ordering extends your customer reach
By transitioning your food business to include an online platform, you are opening up an additional income stream in an industry which is hotting up even as you are reading this. You will also be extending your customer reach, both demographically and geographically. For example, maybe once upon a time, you weren’t getting many customers coming into your restaurant on a Sunday evening, but with online delivery, that Sunday could now turn into one of your busiest days with food going out the door left, right and centre to all different parts of your city – and because of this your profits steadily creep up.
The team at eatPOS are always there to help and offer friendly advice to restaurants in order to generate more traffic to their delivery websites and apps. We will also help you set up a loyalty program to encourage repeat business as we know that regular customers spend up to 67% more than those who just order once.
- Most customers would prefer to cut out the middle man
One big barrier stopping businesses from making the transition to online ordering are the hefty fees that are associated with it. Companies such as Deliveroo and JustEat are taking up to a whopping 30% commission from their orders, whilst others simply add a small fee onto each and every order. But these ‘small fees’ eventually add up.
Now we know that 70% of consumers would rather order directly from a restaurant, as they would prefer that their money goes straight to the restaurant and not a third party, it is time to put systems into place so that they can do this easily online. At eatPOS, we offer a whole online ordering package with your very own app and website for a set monthly fee, so customers can rest assured that their money is going directly to their favourite restaurant.
Plus, opting for having your own online delivery website and app means that you will also have full access to your customer database, so you can build up a profile on those who use your service and even create a loyalty scheme to keep customers coming back for more!
If you would like to find out more about setting up online delivery for your restaurant, take a look at what we offer, or feel free get in touch with our expert team at eatPOS. We can help you design and create your very own delivery website and app for your business without any scary fees.