The Changing Future of Restaurant Industry — How does it look like?

“Restaurant Industry is undergoing a radical transformation at such a rapid pace that in just a few years we expect the market to look nothing like it does today.”

Take a moment to let that statement sink in because the era of the “Internet of Things” is already here; reshaping the way restaurants serve their customers.

In recent years, we have seen a remarkable acceptance of technology in the restaurant industry all over the world. With food tech companies entering the newer markets and brands investing in their products, consumers are experiencing a new level of convenience and limitless options.

If you carefully think about why there has been an increase in the demand of technologies, the main reason is that they are being used to vastly expand the consumer choices in every direction. Forward-thinking restaurants are driven to elevate the consumer experience through technology.

So what will shape the future of the restaurant industry in 2020 and beyond? Let’s take a look at’em

Delivery by Drone

Products come to consumers where and when they need them. The success of a food delivery industry is a function of convenience, reliability, and selection. New delivery models will be essential to customer acquisition and retention that deliver competitive differentiation.

Recent research conducted by Morgan Stanley concluded that the food delivery industry with a current standing of $30B has a potential of becoming of $210B industry in the next 5 years. With everyone looking to target this market segment, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if you see a local food truck or a small eatery launching its business online.

So what does food delivery look like in 2040 from technology? Well, eccentric, to be honest! To begin with, food delivery by drone or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), though still in its testing phase, is expected to reduce the average 30 minutes to 15 minutes.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg Businessweek, Uber’s plans to start delivering fast food by drone in San Diego in the coming months. In New Zealand, Domino’s pulled off its first delivery by drone in August, delivering peri-peri chicken pizza, and a chicken and cranberry pizza to a customer in Whangaparaoa. Foodpanda, on the other hand, intends to expand the concept of Drone Delivery, across markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, and Thailand.

Facebook Ordering

In 2017, Facebook rolled out its Online Ordering feature for restaurants, making it easier for customers to order food from their favorite restaurant directly using the app.

The best part is that the entire process — from browsing the menu to placing orders and making payments can be done without having to navigate away to a delivery service or restaurant’s own app or website.

Companies specializing in Facebook-payment integration for restaurants such as Restolabs, Gloria Foods, ChowNow and so on are helping restaurants to seamlessly integrate their ordering onto the popular platform.

This is a fairly low-cost feature to implement, and it has the potential to grow sales. Some brands like Chipotle, Panera Bread, Papa John’s, TGI Friday’s and Wingstop, have observed a 10–20 percent sales bump with Facebook-based ordering and combination of services.

Novel payment options

Sam finishes dinner with his friends at a fast-food restaurant in Seattle. He calls for the bill, take out his smartphone and uses Apple Pay to make the payment. He sends a copy of the bill to his friends through Whatsapp, who all transfer their share directly to his account using the payment button on Whatsapp.

The prolific penetration of smartphones and the introduction of digital payment platforms like Google Pay, Android Pay, Apple Pay, provided a strong impetus for consumers to move to non-cash payment methods.

Furthermore, the economies are witnessing a robust rise in the number of debit and credit cardholders due to the convenience and flexibility factor involved. A few of the well-known card payment systems include Visa and MasterCard. Banking cards are being utilized for online purchases, PoS machines, and digital payments.

The new frontier in the digital payment space is Soundwave Technology. After QR Code and NFC, soundwave-based payments is touted as the next big thing in digital payments. In SoundWave technology, the merchant’s device generates a sound wave that contains secured and encrypted data, which the customer’s phone receives and translates into analog signals, and can respond to authenticate and complete the transaction instantaneously.

In this context, digital and mobile payment technologies provide a more reliable audit trail, clearer insight into transactions, and increases in revenue. The restaurant businesses must continually be able to grasp the opportunities offered by these alternative payment methods and develop a business model personalized on the needs of customers. The customer benefits from elevated consumer experience.

Voice Assistants, AR, and VR

Voice-based technology is fueling a dramatic rise in voice assistants and chatbots to deliver a smooth and seamless dining experience to customers. With over 55 percent of smartphone users already heavily relying on a voice assistant for their daily needs, retailers are bent on to tap into consumers’ emotions, which will help garner a strong relationship between both the parties.

For instance, customers placing orders online can now seek recommendations as well as ask about deals and offers using voice assistants, most of the results are personalized based on the user’s ordering history and preferences.

In addition, AR and VR deployments, done well, promote engagement and excitement amongst customers. AR is already being used in an imaginative way by many chains like Bareburger, the first to adopt the AR technology to make their new meatless Impossible Burgers virtually appear on guests’ plates through the Snapchat app. The same technology is making its way into sit-down restaurants, enabling restaurants to drive revenue by allowing guests to eat with their eyes first.

Innovations like AR and VR are essential for younger consumers, who just flat out expect an intuitive, live, on-demand experience.

The Technology Effect!

The exponential pace of adoption of new consumer tech make trends hard to project, but the restaurant industry is expected to see inventive adaptations of competitive landscape shifts. Consumer demands are moving in new directions, so does the market. In addition, restaurants are dealing not only with humans but with their online personalities and AI-as-customer, which only further makes the future of the food and restaurant industry exciting.

“The Future of the Restaurant Industry is Dynamic and requires a new set of answers for a new set of questions”

My understanding of what the future holds in context to restaurant technology is: You crave for a burger, you’ll be able to access the full menu on your smartphone or desktop, decide–literally–with your eyes, and place the order. You can make the payment online with a payment app on your phone and in less than 20 minutes your food will be delivered at the marked location — noting how far technology has already progressed from the recent past when you would call the restaurant to place the order and wait for over an hour for the food to be delivered.

“We are building a future. We envisage the next generation of tech-heavy restaurants where you can go with your friends and order food, be connected to your bank account and get the food on your table or doorstep.”

The winners will be those who invest heavily on tools and capabilities to create differentiated experiences around individual behavior patterns. The idea is to design a seamless journey for customers that is more fluid, predictive and responsive.

Those who want their businesses to take flight would pay dirt by making choices today that innovate and create opportunities for all stakeholders. Those who do not might get their names set down next to the Blockbuster or Kodak business case study.

Creating a steady, sustainable and reliable business is well within our reach — aided by technologies of the future.

The good news is — the restaurant industry is already rising to the new challenges. We have a host of innovations to cater to along the way — but in the end, consumers will be the ultimate winners.