Mobile Apps Become Major Growth Tool for Restaurants: Best Features to Include
By virtue of the fact that we as human beings need to eat, typically 3 times per day (more like 6 for me), we often turn to restaurants to satisfy that need in the most convenient and satisfying ways we can find. Predominantly, the search is for local businesses, but travelers rely heavily on mobile apps to steer them in a restaurant search, and the way we go about this has fundamentally changed because of the tools we have at our fingertips. For app developers, this is a fascinating study of how emerging technology is taking hold of an ancient and timeless quest for nourishment and foods that satisfy hunger across all demographics, cultures, tastes and budgets. Industries such as entertainment, hotels, retail outlets and personal services take a back seat to restaurants when it comes to online searches, and then the statistics say that over 75% of people choose a restaurant to dine based on the results of their mobile search.Data also shows that iPhone owners are more likely use mobile apps to do a restaurant search than other smart phone owners. Studies show 80% of people think it’s important to look at a menu before they choose a restaurant now, and it is known facts that free wifi is a major customer draw. So the stage is set with the tools we need as mobile app developers to help people jump online and search for restaurants in their immediate locations.
Features and Data Restaurants Are Looking For in Mobile Apps
Two Apps that have put restaurants on the map for the data they deliver have been Urbanspoon and Yelp. These are such large sites and growing more crowded all the time, so that restaurants large and small and their followers are becoming more and more frustrated with too many results. The real opportunity here is for mobile app developers to provide unique and specialized data gathering tools and advertising to measure:
- popular menu items
- food trends
- nutritional goals and personalization of dining needs
- busiest days and hours within those days
- coupon or loyalty based incentives and their effectiveness
- customer demographics
- current wait times
Other top features of restaurant apps include multiple locations listings, table reservations, wait times and takeout options.
That leads me to the concept of mobile ordering which has really become the major theme for restaurant app developers in 2015. I personally have received multiple requests already this year from prospective customers interested in mobile ordering and delivery services with integrated sub-merchant accounts provided by merchant accounts like Braintree. Leading the way on a large scale are companies such as Domino’s Pizza and Starbucks, with a call to action that says:
“Place an order and pay ahead on the <Starbucks>® app for iPhone®. So now, even when you don’t have time, you can still have <Starbucks>. That means you can walk in, skip the line and ask a barista / counter rep for your freshly made order at the pickup area”.
Last month, Wendy’s reported a significant 3% sales increase in a 35-unit test of an app order- dedicated drive-through program. Chipotle is evaluating the same type of mobile app to see what the impact will be on pick-up orders. Two companies struggling to solve drive-through window issues are Panara Bread and McDonald’s. Both are looking into in-store ways to boost sales via apps on self-order kiosks. Obviously, restaurants of this size are best left to the professional realm of app development, but take note of the trends.
Now, back to the small business restaurant opportunities that surround us. Two young foodies out of Southern California, students from The University of Southern California, were finalists in an SAP Mobile App contest with their app called “Dine Right”. A feature of this app is the personalization of dining suggestions from like minded diners, tapping into the power of a network of lovers of Chinese food. They included features related to nutrition goals, complete with audio alerts when you scan a fatty snack or menu selection that is high in calories or contains a component which triggers allergies. This concept begins to overlap into the popular features of the fitness apps and wearables, providing that virtual boost for our will powers when it comes to health and exercise.
Watch the video to discover the strategy and planning that went into their app (2013 SAP University App Rumble Finalists: University of Southern California).
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Tags: mobile apps, mobile ordering, restaurants
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