Digitally savvy restaurant owners are finding creative ways to improve the customer experience. Building more flexibility into your existing POS system is one way to create future business and address diner demands.
POS Upgrade Drivers
According to the 2020 POS Software Trends survey report, the vast majority of restaurant operators are planning to do just that in 2020. The focal point for getting more out of their POS system varied between functionality, connectivity, and mobility (Figure 1).
(source: hospitalitytech.com)
POS Business Drivers
Improving your POS system’s flexibility is of primary importance for restaurants headed into 2020. But what business drivers are influencing the upgrade path to take? Data indicates three key industry trends appear headed into the new year.
Trend #1 – Using Data to Understand Diner Preferences and Behavior
Being able to quickly access the financial and operational data required to make timely decisions is critical to a restaurant’s success. It’s no surprise that 60% of restaurant operators surveyed want better ways to analyze the data being captured. One creative solution more and more restaurants are turning to is capturing, validating, and analyzing all data in a centralized, cloud-based portal.
By centralizing the financial and operational data from separate systems, restaurant owners capture insight into customer preferences and behaviors.
Trend # 2 Mobile POS with Open Integration
In 2020, mobile POS investments will continue to be a major part of the restaurant’s IT budget. This will be driven by the need to enhance customer service, boost sales, and reduce costs. However, POS will need to be flexible and promote ease of integration with software partners and industry experts to build a healthy ecosystem. Delivery is poised to drive POS investments in 2020 with more than half (56%) of restaurant operators claiming integrations with delivery providers as a key feature influencing purchases. 60% of restaurant owners expect that robust integration with other systems will become increasingly important for restaurants. Such integration would allow owners to know who their next-generation customers are and also create a winning guest experience.
Trend # 3 Integration of Third-Party Vendors
The third-party delivery market was worth $7.1 billion by Q3 of 2018 and is growing fast. Food delivery app usage will likely reach 60 million by 2023 and grow at more than three times the rate of on-premises revenue through 2023. As millennials drive the growth of digital ordering and delivery, the shift to online ordering and off-premise dining is raising the stakes on POS integrations. Operators must consider how a POS handles orders coming from multiple channels including online or third-party delivery services. Ultimately, these kinds of integrations help to improve workflows and allow operations to be more efficient.
Next Steps
Back
