The 2024 Restaurant Technology Landscape Report revealed that customer attitudes toward restaurant technology vary by demographic and service segment.

However, customers’ top favorite technologies are options that provide straightforward ordering and payment processes. These options include:

• Ordering through smartphone apps
• Paying using digital wallets and mobile payment options
• Placing orders and paying through self-service electronic kiosks
• Accessing the menu, placing orders, and paying on smartphones through QR codes
• Placing orders through a computer tablet at the table

With this digital transformation, restaurateurs are encouraged to align their tech investments with consumers’ growing technological preferences. However, it would be best to balance these investments with high-touch hospitality.

In this guide, we will explore the significance of this transformation on your restaurant and provide the technologies you should consider investing in to thrive in the digital era and future-proof your business.

The Impact of Digital Transformation in Restaurants

The most notable effects of digital transformation in restaurants include:

Enhanced operational efficiency

Advanced restaurant technologies let servers send orders directly to the kitchen, ensuring accuracy and speeding up service time. They also have automation functions that help streamline operations.

These features can minimize delays and the time spent cross-checking order information.

For instance, your staff can easily import inventory data, such as reservations, menus, and table arrangements. You can even update them instantly as things change.

Moreover, digital transformation enables remote management, allowing you to monitor operations anytime. Your restaurant is always within reach wherever you are.

Innovative and personalized dining experiences

Digital transformation offers more innovative and personalized dining experiences.

Through restaurant technologies, you provide various ordering options for customers. They let diners order food directly at their tables or after entering your restaurant.

For example, guests can place their orders on tablet menu systems without going to the counter.

You can even provide more convenience by employing online ordering mechanisms that let customers order food at their convenience.

Some restaurant technologies can also include allergen and nutritional information. This function is helpful for guests who have allergies or are nutrition-conscious.

Furthermore, data-driven insights allow you to tailor the dining experience to individual preferences. Loyalty programs have also become more intelligent, helping strengthen your personalization tactics.

Direct customer engagement through mobile devices

Mobile devices are now integral to dining. Many customers order takeaways or book reservations through websites or mobile applications.

This online ordering preference enables direct customer engagement through mobile devices. Rather than calling you and waiting in line, customers can directly inquire or raise their concerns via email or live chat.

Live chat provides immediate assistance, ensuring customers feel supported throughout their ordering experience.

Meanwhile, you can create a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section to answer common questions. This section will help customers navigate your ordering system more efficiently.

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Digital Technologies That Redefine the Dining Experience

The digital transformation brought the following restaurant technologies:

POS systems

Point-of-sale systems, or POS, exist at physical and virtual points of sale. They combine hardware, software, and payment processors to make sales.

One of the most essential POS mechanisms for restaurants is handheld POS systems. These portable devices let staff and guests manage transactions at the table and transmit orders to the kitchen.

These systems also have payment integrations that help minimize the back-and-forth of dropping off checks, running for payments, and returning receipts.

QR codes

Quick response (QR) codes are machine-readable codes that store URLs and other information. Users view the information stored in these codes using smartphone cameras or scanners.

Brick-and-mortar diners scan these codes to browse your menu, place orders, or pay. This scanning process can save time and labor because you receive dine-in orders and payments digitally.

If you take tableside orders, you can provide tabletop QR codes to optimize the dining experience.

QR codes allow you to update your menus in real time without reprinting new ones. Plus, guests can conveniently browse and order from the updated menu once they’re seated.

Online ordering systems

Restaurant online ordering systems are already available pre-pandemic. However, their convenience has increased interest in these channels in recent years.

These platforms let customers place orders from your restaurant’s website, mobile app, or third-party services like DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub, and Postmates.

Online ordering systems also provide the following benefits:

• Data collection (guest and ordering information)
• Flexible menu changes
• Real-time order tracking
• Direct customer service

Self-order kiosks

Self-order kiosks are touchscreens with easy-to-use interfaces. They let customers order independently by guiding them throughout the process—from building their meal to payment and pickup.

In these kiosks, diners can pay through contactless options or with cash at the counter without waiting for their orders to be transmitted to the kitchen.

As customers build their orders, the kiosks can also display prompts with promotions or menu modifiers.

These devices help streamline ordering processes, ensuring more accurate orders and reducing waiting time. Additionally, they can minimize workload so your staff can focus on customer service and food preparations.

Robots

Robots are AI-powered machines that help with restaurant operations. Some examples of restaurant robots include:

• Little Caesar’s pizza-making robots
• Flippy, a burger-flipping robot used by CaliBurger

Other restaurant robots include:

• Cooking robots
• Serving and delivery robots (robots that deliver orders to the table)
• Bussing robots (robots that clean the tables and carry dishes back to the kitchen)
• Host robots (robots that greet and welcome guests)
• Bartending robots (robots that mix and serve drinks)

These robots can provide customizations for a more personalized dining experience. They can also compensate for staff shortages.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Besides robots, AI is becoming increasingly essential in restaurants. Some ways in which AI is becoming a staple in restaurants include:

• AI phone answering
• Voice ordering through voice search
• Intelligent staffing and scheduling
• Data-based forecasting through AI-powered predictive analytics
• Optimize supply usage
• Modeling patron preferences through predictive analytics
• Assist waitstaff by tracking refills and requests
• Automated marketing and re-targeting
• AI-assisted content creation

Virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR)

Virtual experiences are here to stay. Many restaurants provide these dining concepts through virtual and augmented reality technologies (VR and AR).

VR provides a simulated three-dimensional environment through VR glasses.

Meanwhile, AR integrates 3D virtual objects into the real world to provide an “extended reality.”

With these technologies, diners can take virtual tours to gain a sense of your restaurant’s ambiance and layout before visiting. 

You can also visualize your dishes through 3D representations to entertain guests while they wait for their orders. Le Petit Chef’s dinner shows are one example of these visualizations.

These immersive interactions help foster customer engagement and entice people to visit your restaurant for the brick-and-mortar experience.

Sustainable tech

The growing number of eco-conscious consumers prompts all businesses to adopt sustainable technologies. For restaurants, these technologies include:

• Digital menus to reduce paper waste
• Smart lighting and energy-efficient equipment that minimizes energy consumption
• Smart bins with sensors that monitor waste levels

Embrace the Digital Era

The restaurant industry stands at a pivotal stage where embracing technological advancements is no longer an option but a necessity.

As such, leveraging cutting-edge digital technologies helps ensure your restaurant remains adaptive, engaging, and relevant.

But remember, digital technologies should enhance human interactions, not replace them. After all, dining is about connections and experience.