Digitization A Key Tool In The Recovery Of The Restaurant Industry
The restaurant industry ended 2020 with total sales amounting to $240 billion. This is below The National Restaurant Association’s 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry report. Although many dining establishments have reopened, others have closed for good. Those that have survived have had to embark upon a digital transformation to stay competitive.
The following are just a few ways in which digitization is key to a restaurant’s success and its survival in current economic times.
Digital Dining Magazines
The new Where to Eat Guide is an excellent example of how digitization can improve the quality of the customer experience. Featuring sample menus, amenities, maps, direct links to reservations/catering/take-out, and more. It can be placed in hotels so that guests can instantly learn where to dine. The customers will use their smartphones to scan a QR code. The QR code gives access to fast food to fine dining restaurants.
Order And Pay Systems
These days, restaurants such as Wetherspoons, McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Chili’s offer clients the chance to order in advance from their mobile, desktop, or computer. Order and pay systems increase spending by up to 30%, including attractive photographs, the immediate availability of items, and increased user control causing customers to spend more. To take advantage of this technology, menus should be slickly engineered. This way that customers are encouraged to order more. They should feature ‘popular’ items, for instance, in addition to suggestions, special meals, and other tempting features. In addition, restaurants should experiment with their app regularly. They can do so, for instance, by changing the order of their menu’s categories.
AI For Customer Loyalty Programs
AI can help restaurants observe customer patterns and trends. This allows them to offer personalized customer loyalty programs that will resonate more strongly with diners. It can also help a restaurant create better content for its website and social media channels and shape new campaigns.
Digital Operations And Compliance Apps
These apps can run restaurants more efficiently by checking quality, overseeing routines, and handling deviations. Digital operations and compliance apps are cloud-based services that track everything from documentation capabilities to digital checklists. They also ensure that establishments have got everything from temperature control to equipment inspection and cleanliness down pat. In addition, app users receive real-time information on any problems with equipment or processes to be solved immediately.
The restaurant industry has undoubtedly been hard hit by recent and current global events—those wishing to survive need to embrace digital technology to create vital relationships with customers. Digitization can also help restaurants ensure that all processes are complied with so that existing problems can be dealt with speedily and efficiently.
More about the Author: Jennifer Kelly is a food-obsessed freelance writer who loves to explore as many cuisines as possible. When not eating and writing, she spends time with her kids and pack of three dogs, visiting the beach as much as possible.
About the Author: 
Jennifer Kelly is a food-obsessed freelance writer who loves to explore as many cuisines as possible. When not eating and writing, she spends time with her kids and pack of three dogs, visiting the beach as much as possible.
