As businesses gear up for recovery and revival, the biggest challenge faced by restaurants is attracting customers. Before the pandemic struck, customers would visit restaurants and order in-house; COVID-19 saw mobile ordering increase even as focus shifted to contactless interactions. Mobile responsive websites designed to address restaurant businesses are fast catching up as customers use them to order food online, both for carryout and for delivery. According to a report, ordering food inside a restaurant dropped from 74% in Q1 to 41% in Q2 of 2020, while online ordering rose to 11% from a modest 3% in the previous quarter.
Attracting more business
Restaurant website development is significant to attracting more business when physical distancing is enforced. As user experience takes center-stage, the role played by a well-executed UI/UX becomes vital for restaurant businesses. It is important to understand this trend. Comprehensive website solutions, designed especially for restaurants and apps, especially mobile apps, are helping restaurants stay engaged with their clients and communicate critical messages of safe food deliveries and contactless payment options.
Judicious restaurant website development can result in a well-designed and comprehensive UI/UX, which:
- Addresses the customer’s needs for a physically contactless experience.
- Helps the restaurant gather navigation data and browsing patterns. Data analytics can then guide the restaurant in designing around customer experiences and concerns.
- Communicates measures taken by restaurants towards contactless interactions, customer safety measures such as contactless deliveries, and ease of online ordering by way of visible messaging.
- Can help mitigate to an extent, the staff shortage restaurants are facing as a result of widespread layoffs due to the pandemic.
Creating memorable experiences
The role played in reaching out to restaurant clients by effective website design cannot be ignored. Immersive experiences can help lockdown-weary customers while allowing restaurants to upgrade their digital capabilities. This allows better customer connections and attracts potential patronage using innovation. Immersive experiences are associated with in-house dining and may need major technical overhauling. In its stead, restaurants can connect with existing and potential customers using social media apps with video sharing capabilities. Real-time videos of specialized cooking can help engage visitors and draw them to explore the restaurant’s offerings through online ordering and interactions.
An effective website is visually pleasing and is backed by research to help ensure customers find what they are looking for. As customers move online, forced by social distancing norms, experts feel some of these changes might outlast the pandemic and become permanent. For example, there will probably be a section of customers who may not go back to in-person ordering once they experience online processes.
Being prepared for change
Probably the most important strategy is for businesses to adopt relevant technology now. Effective mobile applications paired with customized restaurant website design can empower businesses to use the power of data analytics to deliver memorable experiences to their customers. Choosing a proven website development services provider can allow small businesses to optimize their efforts and their financial resources not just for sustainability but for the promise to grow and thrive in the future.
Next steps
- Learn more about Analytix IT Solutions that combine people, processes, and technology to address the IT challenges faced by your business.
- Email us at sales@analytix.com or call us on 781.503.9002 today.
- Follow our blog for industry trends and the latest updates.
- Engage with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.