Starbucks was the first-ever company to start offering mobile payment solutions to its customers. It has helped them to reinforce their public images or to attract a new audience as well as to create high industry standards in customer services.
Today, restaurants are following the same path to diversifying their way of accepting payments. Cash, credit card, and debit card are the most popular payment methods used in restaurants. These days restaurants are also widely accepting popular mobile wallet apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. As per statista, the mobile payments market will reach 13,979 billion dollars (approx.) in 2022.
From the above discussions, you can see that there is a strong potential in mobile payment app development for your business. If you are thinking of growing your restaurant business margin by using a contactless payment solution, then you should hire dedicated software development team.
If you want to know more about how a mobile payment solution can help you with operating your restaurant business, then this blog is for you. In this blog, we will discuss with you in detail about how mobile payments are revolutionizing the restaurant industry.
Why is it challenging for traditional restaurants to operate in the current situation?
The restaurant industry continues to be a tough nut for entrepreneurs to get new opportunities. That is why you need a clear understanding of the restaurant industry to get an extra edge over your competitors in the business. Here are a few challenges that you need to understand before integrating mobile payments into your restaurant :
Poor money management
Poor money management is often a deal-breaker for customers. Some customers still prefer to pay by cash. It becomes a bit risky for the restaurant owners to keep a big amount with them. Also, the issues of change in money can arise.
Lower reach
Traditional restaurants have limited promotional sources to publicize themselves. For getting new customers they have to use the local resources like telephones, newspapers, banners, etc. However, adopting these methods cannot help the traditional restaurants to make their mark in the current restaurant markets.
Expensive
Nowadays, going to restaurants with friends and family is becoming expensive. That is why people seldom go eating out with their loved ones as it disturbs their monthly budget.
Improper management of staff
Restaurant managers are facing serious labor issues in their business operations. An increase in the minimum wages of staff, changes in labor laws, and a tight labor market has forced the restaurant operators to settle their costs against the need for talent.
Turnover continues to rise across the whole restaurant industry, including casual and fine dining segments that had previously benefited from lower turnover rates than some other segments of the industry.
How mobile payments can help you to win the hunger game?
The innovation in mobile technologies has turned a smartphone into a credit card. No wonder that hotels and restaurants are more about convenience and comfort than other businesses, and were the first in line to take up the initiative. Let’s look at how the restaurant industry has welcomed mobile payments and how they benefited from this technology.
On-demand food delivery
On-demand food delivery apps like UberEats, Grubhub, and DoorDash have drastically changed the food business landscape. These food delivery apps allow innovative ways for restaurants to branch out themselves. Additionally, with dine-in options temporarily suspended, the delivery has helped keep restaurants in business. Now the users can order, pay, and track their food right over their smartphones.
Book your table on the go
Now the customers can easily book their table in their favorite restaurants by using a mobile app. The reservation feature of a restaurant app has helped a lot of people like business professionals for sudden urgent meetings, to the procrastinators who never do anything in advance, and to the restaurants to fill up their space at the last minute to boost their sales.
Faster processing
An efficient mobile money payment solution has helped the restaurants to increase their speed by automatizing their business processes. It has eliminated the data entry in the restaurants. It also decreases their huge backlog of invoices and receipts. It allows the restaurants to save the environment by eliminating paper receipts and sending digital invoices to clients on their registered email address.
Push notifications
Push notifications are an excellent way for restaurants to stay connected with their customers. The restaurants can provide information on different offers, cashback, discount, app updates by sending them multiple notifications.
With a robust app, restaurants can message their customers about upcoming special events or they can redirect them to their websites and social media pages. Also, they can invite users to write their reviews about their products by sending push-notifications on the app.
Enhanced safety of restaurant staff
Contamination is the biggest concern of any restaurant business. It can occur from food and other kitchen bacteria, and outside contamination. Mobile payment apps are helping the restaurant to strengthen the safety of its staff by integrating touchless payments into their dealings.
The mobile money solution helps the restaurant to sort the storage issue. It helps the restaurant owner with maintaining the records of food stock. It allows its users to analyze their food demand and order accordingly.
Mobile wallets
Mobile wallets have changed the way of payments. Customers are now preferring the convenience and safety offered by the digital wallets rather than digging through their wallets.
The integration of mobile wallets has made it easier for restaurants to introduce mobile payments to their customers. Different mobile wallets have different features that help the restaurant owners and customers with their dealings. It allows users to make payments with multiple payment methods like credit cards, debit cards, UPI, QR codes, etc. It offers multiple features like peer to peer payment, add money, bill payment, card management, bill split, etc. to its users.
Real-time analytics
Mobile payment solutions allow their users to track their daily business transactions by providing them real-time data of their sales, purchases, profits, holdings, etc. Also, the users can know which product they are spending more money on so that they can reduce their expenses and boost their profits.
It also allows the restaurant owners to keep a tab on their drivers by tracking their location. They can help their drivers and their customers at any time if they have any queries or doubts about the delivery food.
Unleash the wearable technology
Wearable technology helps restaurants to manage orders and payments via a smartwatch. Also, it makes the customer ordering process easy from the customer’s end. It allows the restaurant to market themselves by sending promotional messages. This will boost your customer engagement.
Staff management becomes easy with the integration of wearable technology into your restaurant business. It makes the check-in and check-out process faster. It also helps the restaurants to give a personalized experience to their customers by giving them the tailormade offers and menus.
Loyalty Integration
Acquiring a new customer can cost more than selling products to an existing customer, so it’s pivotal for the restaurants to sustain their customers. The integration of customer loyalty programs into the mobile payment app is the best way for the restaurants to boost their customer retention.
Make sure that your customers have fun being a part of your loyalty program, it does not need to be something hard. The restaurants can integrate multiple tactics like fun games, attractive colors, users community, and competitions to make their mobile money solution a big hit. They test each loyalty solution and choose the one which is best for them.
Customer service and guest experience remain at the core of the hospitality industry, so the restaurants need to integrate a robust loyalty and reward solution to increase their customer loyalty.
Tip management
Every restaurant owner wants to make his employees happy and encouraging greater tips is the best way to achieve this goal. Many customers perceive service as being quicker and better when payment is conducted through mobile wallets.
Now, the customers can pay the tip to the restaurants directly from their digital wallets. It also allows the restaurant owner to keep a record of tips provided to their staff members by the customers.
With an efficient mobile money payment solution, restaurants can open your doors to a wider customer base, collect data for the good of your business, and potentially even generate larger tips for their staff.
Signing off
Mobile payments are helping the restaurants in a great way whether it is the guest management or managing their daily business dealings. It can also add a layer of convenience and ability to restaurants as they can manage their payment faster. It also allows the restaurants to turn their table over at a higher rate.
It allows customers to pay from their smartphones directly. Mobile money solutions have made it easier for customers to try new things in their comfort. With greater convenience, customers may be more willing to place huge orders frequently.
I hope you liked this blog. Keep reading this space for more such resourceful insights.
