By Pat Hong from Technomic, a research and consultancy firm for the food services industry, has released the results of a survey which suggests that consumers expect more technology from restaurants and food retailers. In particular, the survey revealed demand for four areas ready for enhanced technology: loyalty programs, free Wi-Fi, online ordering, and mobile payments.
The Consumer Brand Metrics survey revealed that, particularly among millennials, there is demand for greater technological integration for consumers in the food retail and restaurant industry.
Earlier this year, Domino’s introduced the ability to order pizza via emojis, enabling people to order a pizza with a few mere clicks. Perhaps this contributed to Domino’s topping the Technomic’s consumer survey for restaurants leading the way with technology:
Domino’s also scored the highest in a measure of integration of technology with quick-service, with 60 percent of respondents rating the level of their technological integration as “very good.”
For many restaurants, there is clearly still ground to make up, and the survey revealed that millennials placed a heavy emphasis on the ability to track loyalty points and rewards, as well as the ability to make a mobile payment – a feature which the majority of restaurant brands have yet to introduce.
Another notable winner in the survey was The Habit Burger Grill, whose ease of online ordering saw the brand ranking highest in the area of ordering technology, with 58 percent of respondents rating it as “very good”.
Overall, of all the respondents surveyed, only 13 percents of consumers considered a brand to really excel in technology across all segments.
Ben and Jerry’s was the biggest winner amongst this group, which seems to have won over consumers with its Euphoria Rewardia loyalty program.
It suggests that enhancing the ability to track loyalty points and earn discounts could be one of the biggest wins for brands in the sector to increase the consumer perceptions of technological provision.
“Technology-friendly service in restaurants has become important to consumers broadly, and to Millennials and Generation Z customers, it’s essential,” said Colleen Rothman, manager of consumer insights for Technomic in a interview with The National Restaurant News. “Consumers will continue to look to pizza chains and fast-casual brands for the latest and greatest digital platforms, but they also will expect all restaurants to integrate many technologies that have become a fact of daily life everywhere.”
Do you agree with the results of the survey? What key areas do you think restaurants need to enhance technological provision?
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