Restaurants are turning to the right technology.

Despite high technology adoption, owners need more from their tools to make better business decisions and connect with their customers, whose habits and preferences are evolving.

Digital marketing drives customer connection.Any restaurant owner will agree that having an online presence is key. In fact, all respondents (100%) say they already engage with their customers using digital channels. The far majority (80%) of restaurant owners say having web or social media presence is vital for survival and growth. 80% say having a web or social media presence is vital for survival and growth.

Social media is definitely key for our business. It’s where our marketing comes from, and most of it is organic, we don’t do a lot of paid advertising. We hit our first 10,000 [followers] a year and a half after we opened, and our goal is to hit 25,000 by the end of this year.

— Alex Hernandez, co-owner, Tejas Birria, United States

While many (35%) owners view their website and social media as a method by which they enhance customer loyalty, it’s not the only or even the most popular way. Nearly half (42%) of restaurants offer a customer rewards program, with US (45%) restaurants leading the trend, while 41% of restaurants build community and engage with customers through messaging apps and offer online promotions or contests.

DID YOU KNOW?

Businesses that use Square Online to create their restaurant website saw a 97% increase in sales. With Square Online, you can simplify the ordering process for your customers, and easily integrate with your social accounts to accept more orders.

Owners crave technology and automation tools that do more for their business.As restaurants have embraced technology and automation, teams have gained more time and customer interactions have improved. Two out of three restaurant owners say adopting technology and automation tools to decrease their teams’ hands-on time has improved either employee retention or the customer experience. For restaurants that have larger teams, the impact of technology and automation adoption is even greater: 40% of restaurant owners with more than three locations have seen increased profits due to investing in automation.Yet, despite the overwhelming amount of technology and automation adoption within the industry today, almost every restaurant owner (95%) hasn't found a solution that meets all their needs. So, what's missing?

46% lack the ready insights to understand and improve the customer experience.
37% lack integration capabilities with external partners.
35% cite difficulty for employees to use.
34% are missing real-time visibility for understanding the health of the business.
32% lack flexibility as business needs change.
28% cannot connect with internal systems.

Having access to tools that meet all these needs will enable restaurants to make decisions that make sense for their business.

There are a minority of people that love [pickled turnip] and a majority that hate it, and so they would remove it [from the wrap]. It got to the point where I said, ‘These are very expensive to make; they require a ton of labour, and [through analytics] Square is telling us that tons of people are asking to take it out."

–Abdallah El Chami, owner, Superbaba, Canada

Restaurant owners believe in the benefits of AI. As restaurant owners call for more capabilities within their current technology solutions, AI technology is something many are ready to embrace. And that’s not just within one area of the business. Across regions and restaurant types, restaurant owners believe AI would benefit their team through multiple touch points, between taking and fulfilling orders. Owners see the most value in AI-based tools and automation that help with food delivery and management.41% say these types of technologies would benefit their business the most. 40% say food preparation robots would be most beneficial. This is slightly higher (43%) for restaurants that have more than three locations. Other leading AI and automation technology restaurants are considering AI-driven voice ordering technology (39%), predictive ordering and inventory management and customer service tools like chatbots (38%).

Consumers embrace restaurant technology at higher rates. While restaurants have embraced technology to help their team and their business operate, consumers likewise welcome solutions that make interacting with restaurant businesses faster and easier. From planning their visit, taking their order and paying for their meals, tech-powered consumer interactions have all gone up over the last twelve months.

DID YOU KNOW?

Accessing real-time sales information is simple with Square. Compare daily, weekly, and yearly gross sales, discover top grossing categories and more in a single dashboard. For Square Restaurants POS users, even more data is available, including the ability to track sales for different areas of your restaurant’s floor plan.

49% of consumers prefer contactless payment methods, a 7% increase from last year.

47% of consumers prefer making reservations online or through a social media app, a 4% increase from last year.

42% of customers prefer making reservations online, either through the restaurant’s site or through a third-party system, an 8% increase from last year.

Mobile wallet apps (17%) like Apple Pay rose in popularity this year with a 42% year-over-year increase, in addition to contactless payment kiosks (15%), which rose by 15% in popularity.