Top 5 platforms you can explore to build a Mobile App for your restaurant

“The future is digital”, is not just a marketing ploy coming out of a tech-savvy Silicon Valley kingpin. Today, it’s a hard fact that’s as veritable as saying the earth is round. For the restaurant industry, this holds tremendous potential.

While restaurateurs agree that technology improves their business’ productivity, on the other end, diners believe that their guest experience is enhanced by it. As it is with all sectors, the rise of digital technology is also reshaping the restaurant industry in many ways, and a major factor that will influence restaurants’ growth in the coming years is how they integrate the online ordering and delivery system in their business model.

L.E.K. Consulting, a global management consulting firm, predicts that between 2018 and 2023, food delivery is projected to grow at more than three times the rate of on-premises sales, with digital orders dominating this area.

While restaurants are using different channels for digital delivery, including independent platforms, third-party platforms, and hybrid platforms, this study also states that more than half of delivery consumers now order food directly from the restaurant’s app or website.

In this battle, restaurant mobile apps will go on to have an edge over other platforms and delivery systems. Why?

With over half of our digital media usage coming from mobile apps, this technology has become a part and parcel of our daily lives. In this ‘on-the-go’ era, over 70% of online searches for restaurants are conducted on a mobile device, which means restaurants have a huge opportunity to grab in order to engage customers and increase their market share.

Let’s look at some of the reasons why mobile apps have become essential to the success of a restaurant.

First of all, restaurants can do away with the middlemen (read UberEats, Grubhub, DeliveryDudes, etc.), who devour up to 30% of the profit share. Besides, by being on these platforms, businesses are being placed in direct competition with each other. Once a restaurant has its own mobile app, it also has control over customer data, like age, gender, purchase history, locations, which will help restauranteurs analyze customer behavior so that they can customize their products and services accordingly.

Personalization has become key to keeping the modern customer happy and loyal to a brand, and mobile apps provide a world of opportunity in this area.

Mobile ordering will also increase convenience and expedite the process of taking orders, preparing food and delivery processes — all these advantages without the restaurant owner having to spend a bomb on expanding infrastructure and personnel.

Now that we’ve outlined the indispensability of mobile apps for restaurants, here’s a list of some of the top companies helping restaurants improve their sales through mobile app development for online ordering.

Restolabs

Established in 2012, Restolabs is a cloud-based online ordering software that allows diners to place orders not only via mobile apps but also thought the restaurant’s website and Facebook page. The software offers multiple features that make online ordering a smooth and as hassle-free a process as possible. These include On-the-go Ordering, Real Time Analytics, Point Of Sale Integration, Easy Order Management, Quick Menu Set-up, Multilingual Support among others. A huge advantage of using Restolabs is that it allows each restaurant to customize the ordering apps, hence keeping their brand identity intact — a critical detail in ensuring customer loyalty, which in turn can be rewarded through personalized deals and coupons.

When it comes to the core feature or placing an order, Restolabs earns major brownie points. Besides ensuring a smooth ordering process, it also permits flexibility by allowing customers to easily make changes to their orders even after having already sent their request. It’s seamless payment integration also assures 50% faster checkout process for new users.

Restolabs has already found a widespread clientele in the U.S, UK, Europe, India, and Israel. Their subscription model starts at $45/month, with a 30 days free trial.

ChowNow

ChowNow was founded in 2011 and is also a SaaS-based online ordering platform built for the web, mobile and social media ordering. It has proved to be popular among consumers looking to place their food order through mediums like Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, it becomes the go-to software for online food ordering systems for those restaurants with strong social presence.

ChowNow also provides a tailor-made brand experience custom for restaurants and helps them drive up sales custom through marketing campaigns, including email marketing. For order management, it has an all-inclusive dashboard that restaurant owners can access to check sales trends, track inventory and manage product reports.

Where ChowNow could improve are in its set-up, which is a long-drawn-out process rather than a seamless one and in offering multilingual customer support, especially in a diverse country like the US.

Their pricing is also a bit steeper at $149/month or $119 annual plan.

MenuDrive

MenuDrive has tons of features that would appeal to any business owner. It offers a simple control panel making the set-up of an online store very easy. The Menu Builder allows great flexibility through some advanced options like updating the availability of certain items. Customers can choose from a variety of delivery options including pickup, location delivery, curbside, and dine-in.

When it comes to ordering they stay out with their Group Ordering feature, which allows friends and family to place an order together on one ticket. This system is pretty helpful for placing big orders. Flexible payment options like a check, house account, and meal card, offered by MenuDrive also gives it an edge.

Business owners can also benefit from their loyalty programs which can be created according to the restaurant’s needs and customer purchasing behavior.

GloriaFood

GloriaFood’s biggest USP is that its free to use. Business owners can avail of most of its key services without having to pay a dime, and that seems to be a major attraction, especially for smaller restaurants or those who’re just starting out. It also has an optional paid plan with add-on features.

The free plan includes Free Mobile Ordering, Free Facebook Ordering App, Free Website Ordering Widget, Real-time Ordering, Table Reservations Widget, Run a Promo or Coupon Deal, Detailed Reports and Order for Later, a feature that allows customers to order now and schedule a later pick up or delivery.

However, a bit disadvantage of the free service is that the ordering system is not connected to the restaurant’s payment gateway. Only the paid plan allows online or credit card payment service, where one can accept online payments directly into their account or else the money has to pass through GloriaFood’s system. Personalized branding and advanced marketing services are also available only on the paid plan service.

Restroapp

RestroApp is another competitive platform which aims at making the restaurant industry’s online food delivery more efficient. It markets itself as having an “unmatched digital presence in a mobile-first world”. RestroApp’s target market seems to be small to medium-sized restaurants, helping them latch on to the fast-expanding online food delivery technology. Even its initial idea is said to have popped up while they were sipping coffee at a small local restaurant.

RestroApp’s multiple features comprise of Menu Management, which allows restaurants to categorize their food systematically and in an attractive manner alongside food photographs. For marketing purposes, it provides push notification facilities to inform customers of specials, events and new additions to the menu.

RestroApp also has the customized Loyalty Program feature along with Refer and Earn, a tried and tested formula for ensuring customer expansion and loyalty. For those who have more than one outlets, RestroApp’s multi-location feature makes it easy for restaurant owners to manage all their outlets with a single app which comes with inventory and staff management options as well.

Restaurants can choose from a variety of flexible packages of which the Silver Plan is free, while the Gold Plan and Platinum Plan come at $149/month and $199/month respectively.

With numerous platforms to choose from, it can get a bit intimidating for any restaurant at first. Although, all it takes is a brief research and you’ll definitely find a platform that’s most compatible with your business.

The best approach is to first consider one’s needs and priorities and only then pick a platform that best suits the restaurant’s requirements. That said, aspects like ease of set up and integration and customer support facilities play significant roles in the long run. So it’s also important to look at the big picture instead of focusing only on immediate necessities.

It’s good that this sector is getting more and more competitive, because that means, all the different companies will not only be forced to offer top-notch features to make your restaurant stand out but also provide high-quality services at reasonable pricing.