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4 tech trends picking up steam in 2020
Givex COO Graham Campbell explains how restaurant owners can take advantage of upcoming technology trends to maximize sales and profitability.
February 7, 2020 by Graham Campbell
It is no secret that restaurant technology is evolving at a rapid pace. Whether it be A.I.-powered drive-thrus, third-party delivery apps or POS advancements, technology is becoming more and more integrated into the customer’s daily food-service experience. Looking to the future, fast-casual restaurant owners would be wise to pay attention to emerging technologies and prepare for integration.
Here are four of the hottest restaurant technology trends picking up steam in 2020.
1. Using delivery management technology
Nowadays, third-party delivery has become a mainstream part of the restaurant industry. While many fast-casual and QSR restaurants have partnered with third-party delivery platforms like Uber Eats and Grubhub, not all owners and operators are on board. These services can eat into profits through high commission fees, create complications for employees and can potentially damage the reliability of the brand.
To combat these complications, some brands have started to turn away from third-party aggregators in favor of building in-house delivery platforms of their own. Many brands, such as Cousin Subs, have been realizing savings by adopting technology and delivery management systems that integrate into a restaurant’s existing POS system and website.
Another strategy is to simply adapt to the growing trend. For example, Domino’s opened a high-tech pickup cubby location for carryout customers and third-party drivers. Guests are able to order through any channel, pay, then head to their personal cubby and tap twice to retrieve the pizza. The cubbies’ have digital displays that feature the guest’s name to avoid order confusion. They’re also designed with special linings to keep food hot and drinks cold.
Many restaurants are also reshaping their layouts and register lines in order to better service off-premises orders, à la Chipotle’s new “Chipotlanes.” To take it one step further, ghost kitchens have become a major trend and allow restaurant owners to avoid all costs associated with brick-and-mortar operations by existing as delivery-only.
2. Upselling, advertising and speeding up service via kiosks and digital displays
Digital and self-order kiosks not only provide business owners with a great way to optimize operational efficiency and boost sales, but they also streamline the ordering process and create robust customer relationships by gathering data.
Since consumers are already interacting with the interface, digital kiosks are the perfect way for restaurant owners to leverage marketing analytics to serve up personalized offerings in the sales interaction, such as promotions, surveys and loyalty program sign-ups. Digital advertising through kiosks offers the ability to load content in multiple formats, such as video, photo, text, and audio. This engaging content on digital displays increases consumers’ brand awareness and provides a new channel for businesses to expand their consumer reach.
By reinforcing quicker and easier POS experiences, digital kiosks turn one-time customers into recurring visitors who are much more willing to sign up for loyalty programs. Plus, the accuracy and privacy of the self-serve kiosk process and the ease with which the information is collected make consumers feel more comfortable participating.
3. Ordering by voice
Today, 1 out of 6 adults in the U.S. own a voice-activated smart speaker—approximately 39 million people. Voice assistants are being adopted even faster than the smartphone was, and 65% of people claim that they will not go back to life without their voice assistant.
As Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant gain popularity, consumers are demanding the same level of easy, voice-controlled ordering from their fast-food brands. Customers have come to expect the easiest ordering process possible, and franchisors in the QSR and fast-casual space are now leveraging voice technology as the new frontier.
In the restaurant segment, the popularity of the Amazon Echo (Alexa) and Google Home application programming interfaces (APIs) has resulted in an influx of voice-assistant-enabled ordering platforms. Last year, McDonald's began testing voice-activated drive-thrus and deep-frying robots. Domino’s unveiled a voice recognition app named “DOM,” meant to create a more natural and streamlined way to order pizza over the phone. Taking it one step further, Chipotle recently began rolling out the use of A.I. voice recognition, which can provide brands with a consumer profile based solely on a customer’s voice, including important demographic information such as age, gender and preferred meal choice.
4. Relying on branded currency and enhances gift card technology
In the past few years, gift card technology has evolved into a primary payment method, especially as restaurants prioritize mobile ordering, third-party delivery and consumer-facing loyalty programs. In 2019, 55% of consumers surveyed said that they would be interested in giving and receiving a digital stored-value card that could be added to a mobile app. The younger generations especially enjoy having the option to use their gift cards through their phone and easily make purchases in any environment or on any e-commerce platform.
As digital gift cards with automatic reloads and top-ups become the principal means of payment for mobile apps, branded currency is set to be a major trend in the restaurant segment.
The mobile wallet solutions created by digital gift cards work exclusively for each specific brand and promote repeat business by streamlining on-site transactions for guests and creating a better customer experience overall. For example, some hotels, resorts, cruises and even music festivals issue RFID wristbands to guests, which can be loaded with funds.
With the rise of branded currency, voice-assisted ordering, digital kiosks and delivery management systems, fast casual restaurant owners need to develop a business model that allows for the integration of new technology if they hope to keep up with the competition. A tech-forward approach will result in a boost to overall restaurant sales and position businesses for unprecedented success.
About Graham Campbell
Graham Campbell, COO of Givex, a global cloud-based operations management solution designed to streamline business efficiencies and generate valuable and actionable customer data with offices in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Brazil, Singapore and newly opened in Mexico City. Campbell is an innovative technology executive with over 13 years of experience in the payment, e-commerce and point of sale sectors. He started at Givex in March 2006 and since then has held positions including: VP of Projects & Implementations, VP and General Manager of Givex’s point-of-sale (POS), Senior VP of Product Development and now holds the position of the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
