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The restaurant experience was once solely comprised of human-to-human, in-person experiences. In 2022, with the introduction of ChatGPT, we saw restaurants – and just about everyother industry – look for ways to incorporate artificial intelligence within their customer operations.
Onlineordering has transformed the restaurant industry, turning what was once a convenience into an absolute necessity. In 2025, the US online food delivery market is expected to reach $424.9 Customers expect to browse menus, place orders, and pay for their meals with just a few taps of their phones.
Omnichannel communications and value-oriented customer expectations are two elements challenging restaurant owners and operators, according to a survey from Klaviyo. Brand websites and web browsing are 533 percent more popular than online marketplaces for restaurant discovery.
Where our eyes land first, how we interpret prices, and what descriptions stick in our minds—all of it is shaped by subtle design choices and cues we may not even notice. It’s rooted in behavioral science and backed by decades of research into decision-making, pricing, and visual perception.
“This enduring customer loyalty drives the restaurant industry forward, creating clear opportunities for restaurants to enhance the dining experience through strategic limited time offers, efficient delivery and exceptional in-person service," said Samir Zabaneh, CEO of TouchBistro.
Faced with rising labor costs and increasingly price-sensitive customers, restaurant brands are exploring new ways to balance profitability with consumer expectations. One of the most debated strategies is dynamic pricing, which adjusts based on demand and other variables. Here are three key strategies: 1.
Many restaurant operators have misconceptions about average order volume (AOV) and how it works, making statements like: I need more customers to make more money. In fact, boosting AOV is one of the easiest and most effective ways to increase revenue while improving the customerexperience for your guests.
Steady OnlineOrdering Brings Food Waste, Donations to the Forefront of Priorities Ordering food online increases restaurant sales, but it also can potentially increase wasted food if proactive measures aren’t taken – for both the business and consumers at home.
Menu pricing isnt just about covering costsits about finding that sweet spot where profitability, customer perception, and operational reality meet. Set prices too low, and youre leaving money on the table. Too high, and youll drive customers away.
With social media shaping trends, culture and commerce around the clock, younger generations are increasingly using these platforms to discover new dining experiences. Now is the time for restaurant brands to ask: Are we merging human insight with technology to craft meaningful customer journeys? Benihana exemplifies this approach.
However, 30 percent of high-income consumers are dining at TSRs more frequently than before, signaling room for premium offerings at the right price. Value Isn’t Just About Price—It’s About ExperiencePrice sensitivity may be at an all-time high, but focusing solely on discounts risks missing the bigger picture.
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.
If youre one of the thousands of restaurants that added online food delivery in recent years, you might be wondering: is it actually helping my business grow? These metrics give you a clear picture of your delivery performancefrom order volume and customer retention to delivery speed and profitability.
Restaurants collect a ton of customer data. Every onlineorder, email sign up, and reward program interaction generates valuable insightsbut if that data just sits there, youre missing a major opportunity. Think about it: What if you could automatically send a special offer to a customer who hasnt ordered in a while?
With nearly every organization today adopting digital transformation strategies, many companies are focusing on providing more digital solutions to customers. Why Is Humanization So Important to a User’s Experience? The primary focus of the websites is having what you need, at a good price. Take Amazon, for example.
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. Create Limited-Time Offers That Drive Action Limited-time offers (LTOs) give potential customers a reason to order now, not later.
For a long time, third-party delivery apps seemed like the easiest way to get your restaurant online and in front of new customers. Instead of giving up control to outside platforms, some restaurants are shifting to a more direct approach: first-party ordering. First-Party vs. Third-Party Ordering: Whats the Difference?
Youre delivering a great dining experience, yet foot traffic remains inconsistent, online engagement is low, and new customers arent coming in as often as youd like. The problem isnt your food or serviceits visibility and customer engagementand were going to help you fix that. Optimize your Google Business Profile.
What was once a gradual process turned into a rapid transformation, permanently reshaping how restaurants operate and interact with customers. Customers have now fully embraced the benefits of using restaurant technology, and to keep up with guests evolving expectations, the tech industry is growing at an incredible rate.
If your business isnt keeping up with the changes, you risk falling behind and not meeting modern customer expectations. Diners want the convenience of ordering, booking, and engaging with their favorite restaurants straight from their phones. Onlineordering and delivery apps.
As a restaurant manager or operator, you are the driving force in productivity – leading your staff and keeping customers happy. This leads to the abnormally high turnover rate most operators experience today. There will always be a customer on the receiving end of that waste of time.
Optimize Menu Design for Customer Behavior A menu is often one of the first things a guest interacts with when entering a restaurant, right after taking in the atmosphere and interior. check the restaurants’ menu online before deciding where to eat. This shows how a well-designed menu impacts a customer's behavior.
Just like banks debate on whether or not to lend you money based on your credit history, customers will decide whether or not to eat at your restaurant based on your overall Yelp rating. People need assurances that there’s little to no risk when going out to eat, especially now that the price of everything has gone through the roof.
An onlineordering system is table stakes for every restaurant these days. But if you're still on the fence about implementing online food ordering software at your establishment, take a look at some of the latest stats from the National Restaurant's Association's 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry Report.
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. Customers have more choices, higher expectations, and countless ways to discover (or overlook) your restaurant.
For a deeper dive into brand messaging, strategy, and authenticity, creating unified guest experiences, and the orchestration of physical and experiential touchpoints, Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine reached out to The Plaid Penguin’s Founder and Sir Idea Man Joe Haubenhofer. A strong restaurant brand goes beyond a logo.
Start by gathering two key data points for each menu item: Items Popularity: How often guests order it Contribution Margin: How much profit it brings in To do this, youll need to access your sales data and your food cost for each dish. These are candidates for portion adjustments or pricing tweaks. Hidden gems with potential.
Youre not just managing food and staff, youre battling slim profit margins, high operating expenses, and constantly changing customer preferences. And while the odds improve with experience, restaurant ownership is still tough. The Alternative: Validate your idea, clarify your customer base, and align pricing with your market.
The answer to why your restaurant needs a website is simple: if you dont have a website, you are 100%, without a doubt, missing out on hundreds, if not thousands of customers. 77% of diners look at a restaurants website before going out to eat or ordering takeout or delivery. By now, customers expect every business to have a website.
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.
If your restaurant uses delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grubhub, you already know how overwhelming order volume can get when the rush hitsespecially when youre bouncing between tablets, updating menus in three places, and relying on staff to manually punch in each delivery order.
In this guide, youll learn how to use ChowNow tools along with a handful of other effective strategies to increase order volume, boost your current customer traffic, and grow your overall sales. Returning customersorder up to 25% more after receiving these emails.
AI is no longer just a buzzword, its a reality that is reshaping how restaurants operate, interact with customers, and make decisions. From automating routine tasks to enhancing customerexperiences, AI is revolutionizing the restaurant industry in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.
The tool from the East Coast vegan chain — a digital take on a split-flap mechanical display that appears on its website and in the chain’s ordering app — estimates the amounts of water, land, CO2, and oil saved by eating vegan burgers. The “ PLNT Impact Tracker ” on PLNT Burger’s website wants you to think about what you’re eating.
However, it’s best to understand how cost-effective your current customer acquisition efforts are before dedicating resources to it. Knowing how to calculate and optimize your customer acquisition cost (CAC) can help you make smarter decisions about your marketing and advertising strategies.
Adaptability became non-negotiable as takeout, delivery, and digital ordering shifted from secondary revenue streams to essential lifelines." Digital not only powers seamless experiences but also unlocks guest data that can elevate hospitality across all touchpoints, both digital and in-person.
When you decided to open a restaurant, you probably didnt picture yourself glued to spreadsheets or tracking the price of eggs, but keeping an eye on the numbers is how you stay open year after year. This gives you a sense of how effective your menu pricing is.
It just goes to show how important drink pricing and cost management are to maximizing profits. Bar profit margin and pour cost Some high-performing bars can reach higher margins by optimizing their costs and pricing strategies. Keep in mind that certain drinks can be priced higher due to their popularity or unique ingredients.
Restaurant KPIs are numbers that go beyond basic accounting to help you see how every part of your business is performingfrom your profit margins to your guest experience. Not all restaurant KPIs measure the same thingsome help you protect your bottom line, while others can improve your operations efficiency or improve guest experience.
Understanding what customersorder, when they order, and how often is an untapped goldmine of information for restaurant operators. Using that data can help you answer questions like: Are we pricing our bestsellers too low or overpricing items customers arent buying? Which dishes are getting ordered the most?
Knowing the true cost per serving means you’re not guessing where to set menu prices. When done correctly, dish costing helps you control food costs, reduce food waste, and price items in a way that supports your restaurant’s financial health without alienating guests. Every smart pricing move starts here.
Looking for solutions to these challenges, Ekrem turned to ChowNow to help reduce commission fees and provide a better orderingexperience for his customers. Like many restaurant owners, Ekrem was finding it difficult to balance increasing expenses with the need to maintain reasonable pricing for customers.
Every day, youre juggling staff, food quality, inventory, customer service, purchasing, and moreall while trying to cultivate a dining experience that wows your customers enough to keep them coming back. Customer Service and Experience Great food and drink is only truly enjoyed when its coupled with a great service experience.
Third-party delivery apps start out as a convenient way to reach new customers, but they always take a significant chunk of your profits. While these platforms do bring in orders, they also come with the price of high commission fees, loss of customer data, and a weaker connection between you and your guests.
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