The Future of Food Part 13: Smartphone Ordering

According to Business Insider, “Taco Bell sees 30% higher average order values on mobile compared to in-store, and Starbucks’ Mobile Order & Pay already represents 10% of total transactions at high-volume stores, directly contributing to increased company sales.” The future really is the smartphone, and this trend is not expected to slow any time soon. BI Intelligence has predicted that mobile order-ahead volume in the US will reach $38 billion in 2020, which means that it will comprise almost 11% of all restaurant sales.

Mobile delivery apps and services are also experiencing great demand, with overall food delivery sales increasing 51% between August 2017 and March 2018. Two wildly acclaimed services, Postmates and UberEats, are making it much easier for retailers to integrate mobile ordering into their supply chains.  The near-term financial and efficiency benefits of adopting a digital ordering system via these providers far outweigh the costs and associated technological hurdles.

Smartphones are a great way to appeal to younger consumers. Millennials are the generation who dine out the most (five times per week on average), so it makes sense for restaurants and food retailers to appeal to this tech-savvy generation.

In addition to driving sales, mobile ordering apps have a very beneficial impact upon logistics, as processes in the kitchen are streamlined and overall efficiency levels are increased. In addition, mobile apps minimize how often restaurants have to deal with cash transactions. Migrating their customer base to pay digitally can be hugely beneficial.

Many leading quick-service restaurants are already reaping the rewards when it comes to smartphone ordering. A thoughtfully executed migration to a digital future will ensure their success.