Restaurants rely on modern point of sale technology and integrated solutions such as online ordering and contactless payments. In fact, consumers shopping at restaurants demand digital experiences with independently owned restaurants.
Consumer behaviors are changing based on a brand’s technological footprint.
A JD Power study from March 2021 reports ‘A Full 50% of restaurant delivery provider customers don’t expect to change their behaviors over time and one-fifth (21%) actually expect to use restaurant delivery services more.’
Having a good looking mobile responsive website with contact information is just the beginning of what the modern digital footprint looks like. A successful digital restaurant of today might include self-ordering options in store, online ordering for delivery, QR codes for contactless payment, and digital kitchen displays (kitchen video systems).
On a recent trip to Ft. Lauderdale our team was amazed to see how often our customer service employees ordered online food delivery. A few times a day a driver would show up at the office. It was easy and frictionless for a staff member to order online from her smartphone. Lunch from the local taco restaurant, an early morning coffee prior to a meeting or a mid-afternoon fried chicken sandwich… 30 minutes later the driver showed up and handed off a customized online order without having to take out cash or a credit card, the online ordering was a true contactless payment experience.
Missing out on certain orders was too good to pass up and other team members piggybacked off others orders, significantly raising the average order amount. In fact, restaurateurs state that average tickets for lunch orders have never been higher. Some staff took lunch and ate at their desk and even continued work feeling more productive. Some studies suggest that corporate meal programs are not only a benefit to employees but also a productivity incentive for staff working in office or remotely at home.
From the independent restaurant view the perspective is third-party delivery is almost a love-hate relationship, if they can’t fully compete against them then join them. Third party delivery services charge high commissions and fees to restaurants but also charge fees to the consumer (and sometimes higher menu prices). Companies like Uber Eats, Doordash, and Grubhub justify these as business expenses that they cover the carrying costs of driver labor, gas, and insurance.
Restaurants with a business model built around a high volume of take out and delivery like pizzeria restaurants may have a harder time justifying these high costs compared to using a commission-free integrated online ordering system such as EdgeServ POS. This is especially true when third-party fees impact the total revenue of the business as opposed to portion of a profit center a full-service restaurant with a small percentage of the overall orders being deliveries. For example a high volume pizzeria restaurant with $3000 a day in delivery volume ‘spends’ $900 a day on a 30% commission plan or the equivalent to 45 pizza orders ($20 average pizza). On the other hand, a Full Service Restaurant with mostly dine-in business may turn to online ordering to bring in additional revenue but not affecting the total revenue of the restaurant.
High volume independent operators turn to modern POS providers like Cervion Systems to provide commission free ordering systems integrated into the Point of Sale. There is a substantial benefit of saving money on third party commissions but also labor savings associated with re-entering orders from third-party delivery tablets into the POS.
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Cervion Systems is a Point of Sale provider with offices in New York, Pennsylvania and South Florida. Founded in 1996, with over 20 years of professional POS service experience, Cervion is the leading VAR (value added reseller) offering restaurant Point of Sale. Cervion provides restaurants and bars with local sales and service, modern Apple iPad point of sale systems and affordable programs for new and existing restaurants. Please contact Cervion Systems at 877.476.7246 or sales@cervion.com.
