HOW RESTAURANTS CAN CREATE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE DIGITAL AGE

The pandemic has inevitably taken some personal elements out of the typical restaurant experience today. Often, consumers are opting to order online for contactless delivery or curbside pickup instead of sitting down in a dining room, foregoing in-person interactions for the sake of safety.

Maximizing online operations and contactless services has benefited operators and consumers alike. But no matter how restaurateurs choose to shift their operations, giving diners a personalized, engaging experience remains key to keeping customer satisfaction and retention high.

Consumers call for personalization

When it comes to creating human-centered experiences, there are few frontiers more promising than using consumer data to personalize and improve services all around. And, importantly, consumers are largely in favor of data-driven personalization.

According to Technomic’s 2020 Foodservice Technology Consumer Trend Report, more than one-third of consumers order online for takeout from restaurants, and over 28% order online for delivery. They want these online ordering experiences to be as seamless as possible, noting that they expect to be able to use a search feature on the site or app to customize menu items as they order them., They also expect to be able to pay for their off-premise orders online, too. In addition, about a third of consumers say they order through a different channel—or another restaurant altogether—when these priorities aren’t met.

Beyond the basics of ordering, paying and customizing online, consumers are interested in even more ways to make a frictionless ordering process. And especially when it comes to ordering via smartphone app, personalization is vital: Thirty-six percent of consumers say they expect to be able to save their payment information in the app, and 39% expect to be able to save their previous orders and their favorite menu items. Beyond offering convenience to consumers, operators who offer these features gain the benefit of using consumer data to further tailor each diner’s experience.