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As digital transactions become ubiquitous, businesses across all sectors are embracing innovations that reshape the way they interact with customers. The simplicity and convenience of these payment methods will boost customer satisfaction and increase revenue by reducing checkout hesitation and encouraging higher spending.
based diners who recently ordered from a QSR, fast-food or fast-casual chai also found that value is about more than just price. Diners are looking for a better overall experience, from streamlined ordering to more inviting restaurant environments. The survey of 1,500 U.S.-based
Quick-service restaurants maintain a steady customer satisfaction score of 79 (on a 100 point scale), while full-service restaurants — despite slipping 2 percent to 82 — remain one of the highest-rated industries in the Index, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025.
After successfully opening a second location in Kernersville, NC, and planning for a third one, the fast-casual gourmet slider brand has started franchising and plans to grow strategically in the Southeast region. By automating certain tasks, we free up our team to focus on what truly matters: creating a great guest experience.
It’s tempting to chase quick wins with deep discounts or paid promos, but those tactics usually eat into your margins as fast as they spike short-term numbers. And no, increasing restaurant sales doesn’t mean turning your restaurant staff into pushy upsellers trying to squeeze a few extra dollars out of every order.
How you approach restaurant marketing can be broken into two main categories: Attracting new customers to your restaurant Earning more from the customers you already have Most restaurant operators pour time and money into the first, but often overlook the massive opportunity in the second. Let’s say you run a neighborhood pizza shop.
In recent years, consumer behaviors have drastically changed to now preferring delivery services and an increased willingness to pay a premium for a seamless experience. The data revealed that 60 percent of consumers surveyed prefer human staff versus AI-managed customer support, despite the potential for increased service efficiency.
By the time you finish this article, youll know how to approach restaurant marketing the right way and not waste time doing guesswork, crossing your fingers, and then hoping you see new customers walking through the door. The industry is evolving fast, and simply relying on word-of-mouth or foot traffic isnt going to cut it.
Understanding your target market is the foundation of making smart decisions for your menu, pricing, and overall guest experience. Key customer factors that influence dining preferences, from demographics to behavior. A restaurant target market is the specific group of customers your restaurant is designed to attract.
The restaurant industry is rapidly evolving, and mobile food ordering is at the center of this transformation. In 2025, convenience and speed continue to drive customer expectations, reshaping how people choose and receive their meals. In a world where every second counts, mobile food ordering is experiencing exponential growth.
When going through the ordering process, diners want three things: Speed Ease Clarity Your menu categories have more to do with delivering on those expectations than you might think. On the flip side, a cluttered or confusing category setup can overwhelm guests, slow down ordering, and lead to missed sales opportunities.
When youre updating your online menu or online ordering system, its tempting to just copy over the dish names from your restaurant menu and call it a day. Well-written menu descriptions dont just tell guests whats in a dish; they entice customers, set the tone for your brand, and can increase sales.
It is atop the list for restaurants looking to modernize, differentiate, and elevate experiences. So much data is generated at every point within a restaurant, whether fastcasual or fine dining. The question now becomes – how to make sense of that data and use it to elevate the dining experience. Data, Data, Data.
Restaurant type: Whether you run a fine dining, fastcasual, or quick service concept plays a big role in potential margins. Customers are price-sensitive Raise your menu prices too much, and your loyal customers start to disappear. Keep them too low, and youre losing your net profit margin every time someone orders.
Menu pricing isnt just about covering costsits about finding that sweet spot where profitability, customer perception, and operational reality meet. Too high, and youll drive customers away. High-end restaurants can charge more for the experience, leaving wiggle room for a higher food cost percentage.
More than half of those surveyed, 55 percent, said increasing sales is 2025’s top priority, followed by reducing costs and enhancing guest experiences. However, the industry has renewed optimism, driven by the adoption of digital and mobileordering, menu creativity and heightened expectations around AI. Franchise 2.0:
Continue to Site >>> Menu C-stores are stealing fast-food tactics. Not quite yet An easy way to bring bold Korean flavors to modern menus From BBQ to beverages, menus are seeing a lot of action Food C-stores are stealing fast-food tactics. Photo: Shutterstock Made-to-order food, value offerings, loyalty programs.
By Kateryna Reshetilo, Contributor Are you a restaurant owner looking for ways to keep up with the fast-changing demands of your customers? Today, more than ever, restaurants are turning to custom-built apps to improve convenience, streamline operations, and foster customer loyalty. Real-time order tracking.
The research found that businesses worldwide – particularly restaurants – intend to experiment more in 2025, especially with customer retention programs like loyalty, as they face the triple challenge of sustained high inflation, shrinking consumer wallets and the need to raise prices across the board.
In this article, well walk you through 7 easy steps to increase table turnover effectively, helping you boost your bottom line while maintaining a great dining experience. If you have a bustling restaurant, having faster table turnover is one of the best ways to increase both revenue and customer satisfaction.
The restaurant industry is evolving fast—and at the heart of this transformation is new restaurant technology. From AI-driven ordering systems to smart inventory tools and contactless dining experiences, today’s innovations are reshaping how restaurants operate, serve customers, and stay competitive.
Order and pay at the table technology is emerging as a game-changer, allowing guests to browse the menu, place their order, and complete paymentall from their smartphone or a tablet, without waiting for staff. This shift is helping restaurants reduce wait times, increase table turnover, and create a more seamless dining experience.
As more restaurants turn to automation, self-order kiosks are becoming a must-have for improving speed, accuracy, and customer satisfaction. But before making the switch, one key question stands out—what is the actual self-order kiosk price in 2025? What Is a self-order kiosk? Self-order kiosks can range in size and use.
A modern Restaurant POS System does far more than just process payments—it powers the entire dining experience. From managing orders and tracking inventory to analyzing sales data in real time, today’s POS systems are essential tools for restaurants of all sizes. They managed customer payment and provided change when needed.
From real-time inventory tracking to mobileordering and multi-location management, the right POS helps restaurants grow faster and operate more efficiently. Toast : Designed for restaurants, offering tableside ordering, inventory management, and a free starter plan with 3% payment processing. Thats where Lavu leads the way.
The way customers pay is evolving, and restaurants are adapting quickly. If you’re wondering why restaurants are going cashless, the answer lies in speed, security, and customer preference. Cashless systems streamline operations, reduce theft risk, and align with the growing demand for contactless experiences.
New Online Ordering 70% of guests prefer ordering directly from restaurants 1 , and guest expectations for fast, seamless digital experiences have never been higher. As the demand for efficient online ordering solutions continues to grow, many restaurants struggle to keep up.
Is your staff constantly battling long wait times, confused orders, or slow transactions? If your POS system is slowing down your restaurant , you’re not just dealing with minor annoyances; you’re risking lost revenue, poor customerexperiences, and operational chaos. PCI-compliant security to protect customer data.
"The pandemic forced the restaurant industry to reinvent itself overnight, moving from a primarily in-store dining experience to an omnichannel, digital-first business. These changes have become permanent shifts in how they target customers, market themselves, and design their offerings." How Do You Stack Up?
Running a quick service restaurant comes with high expectations—fast service, consistent quality, and tight margins. But even the most experienced operators can fall into traps that hurt customerexperience and profits. From poor staff scheduling to inefficient workflows, quick service restaurant mistakes can quickly add up.
Restaurants are no longer merely adopting technology; they’re driving transformative changes that will redefine customerexperiences and operational efficiency across industries. This distributed approach creates resilience while enabling the speed and intelligence needed in today’s fast-paced restaurant environment.
Mobileordering has moved from a trend to a necessity. Diners today aren’t just hoping for mobile-friendly experiences. If your restaurant’s mobileordering isn’t fast, easy, and intuitive, customers won’t wait around. They’ll bounce, and likely order from a competitor. They expect them.
Ever wonder why that craft cocktail at your local bar seems irresistible, or why you always end up ordering that premium coffee drink when you meant to get regular brew? Professional menu designers, like our team at Webdiner, use sophisticated heat-mapping tools to analyze customer eye movements and optimize item placement for maximum impact.
Quick-service restaurants—like cafes, fast food, and fastcasual—are estimated to have decent profit margins with lower food and labor costs. There's a basic version for fast calculations and and advanced one if you really want to get into the weeds. More on that below.
Restaurants Order Up Tech, AI, and Dynamic Pricing As far as technology goes, 26 percent of respondents said they’d like to start using new tech to help run their business, which is up seven percentage points from last year. As restaurant owners work to attract new customers, reviews have become more crucial than ever.
So ask yourself: Is your place casual and playful? That means your restaurant website and social media need to make a strong first impression, and fast. A functional online menu that’s easy to read and optimized for mobile devices helps attract customers and increase conversions. Sleek and modern?
Despite the fact that consumers are paying more to visit and order from restaurants this year – 12.5 28 percent of consumers say they are ordering takeout and delivery more frequently than last year. Additionally, households making less than $50k ordered takeout and delivery far less frequently than their wealthier peers.
Off-Premises Dining Is Essential Nearly 75 percent of all restaurant traffic now happens off-premises—meaning that almost three out of four restaurant orders are taken to go. More than 60 percent say they’re ordering off-premises more often than a year ago. Older adults still prefer in-person ordering.
In a world where attention spans last mere seconds, it’s your first and best chance to turn a curious swipe into a loyal customer. Why Mobile UX Matters Mobile traffic has surged, accounting for over 70% of restaurant website visits. Your mobileexperience is your chance to win them over before the competition does.
Businesses have been forced to pivot away from on-premises dining to offer on-line ordering and take-out services. Here are five tips for planning for the future to provide the best service: Understand Your Customers. The people that answer the phone for takeout orders are now your frontline for customers.
More than ever, brands, especially QSR and FastCasual restaurants brands, are taking advantage of the vast and varied platforms available for consumer engagement; most notably social media. They speak to their core audience of current and future customers. Making Personalization Central. How can restaurant brands get personal?
These features include tableside mobileordering, NFC contactless payments, and direct online ordering. “We’re both humbled and lucky to support our amazing customers during this critical time. Market Cafe is completely contact-less: guests scan and pay for all their items and leave.
Indeed, we’ve entered a new era of customer habits –– much of it catalyzed by the pandemic, but some of which was already beginning to take shape even prior. Most notably is the shift to mobile and the way in which consumers patronize their favorite restaurants. Owning the End-to-End Experience.
In particular, supply chain disruptions and staffing shortages – whether due to resignations or illness – are forcing quick service and fastcasual restaurants to adapt quickly to changing conditions. Increased Emphasis on Online Ordering. Appeal to Mobile Gamers.
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