How Restaurateurs Can Grow With Innovative Payment Technologies
A look at strategies to set up your restaurant for success
To meet customers’ changing payment preferences, embrace new technologies that accept contactless transactions, including self-service ordering and pay-at-the-table solutions, like kiosks.
say they need to offer contactless payment options, such as pay-at-the-table devices or kiosks, to improve and compete in the marketplace. 12
When considering in-house experiences, implementing kiosks allows restaurateurs to customize their space without major structural changes. The devices are small and easy to install: They can be mounted to walls, counters, or standing pedestals, opening up counter space.
Kiosks give customers control over their ordering experience. Diners can view the full menu at their leisure, customize it to their preferences, and maybe even discover new menu items they didn’t know existed. In a self-serve system, the likelihood of ordering errors decreases significantly as potentially misheard orders no longer factor into the customer experience. 13
The kiosk ordering process can be as speedy or relaxed as the customer wants, negating the flustering effects that counter lines or slow wait staff can create. Kiosk sales tend to translate into higher average tickets. 14 According to a November 2023 earnings call, kiosks are Shake Shack’s highest margin channel. 15 A kiosk’s visual environment creates seamless upselling opportunities by suggesting add-ons like beverages or informing diners of qualifying combination meal deals.
Finally, kiosks allow customers to select the items they need quickly and pay via their preferred channel, creating a convenient, tailored experience. Adopting such technologies, including Square payment solutions, kiosks, and readers, has proven to be fruitful. Customers spend an average of $44 at restaurants when they pay via digital wallets, compared to $33 for those who didn’t use a digital wallet, according to a 2024 PYMNTS Intelligence survey of more than 2,500 consumers. 16
More restaurants are turning to self-service ordering to deliver orders both faster and more accurately. Square Kiosk is an all-in-one hardware, software and payments solution that clears lines, turns tables, and satisfies customers.
The war for attracting the best workers never ends, and restaurateurs today face a tight labor market and rising salary costs. As a result, achieving success means finding ways to boost the effectiveness of the skilled workers already at your restaurant. That has restaurateurs looking to automated ordering and payment systems for help. 17
report using technology and automation to fill critical gaps when not staffed at full capacity. 18
Such automated systems can both fill gaps in back-end logistics and shift the front-of-house customer experience. It’s especially helpful for restaurants that work across multiple channels, helping them quickly sell in-person, via pickup, or via delivery.
With omnichannel orders in one place and payment conveniently collected, restaurants can shed excess processing time – and the wait that goes along with it that slows down your key staff members – in order to turn tables quicker and drive more sales. A recent National Restaurant Association report found that more than half of respondents under the age of 60 are open to ordering and paying via QR code at QSRs, limited-service, and full-service restaurants. 19
Take the headache out of scheduling, payroll, and benefits – weaving them directly into your point-of-sale terminals for your team – with Square Staff.
