Technology Innovation in Restaurant Industry

Posted by Saim Ali on January 8th, 2019

Nowadays, the technology has become a key player for business Innovation. For the food industry and despite the importance in the evolution of business, progress has always been slow and a reluctance. Fortunately, it seems that this is changing.

Magazine Hospitality Technology He has been tracking technology investments in restaurants during the past 20 years. For the last Restaurant Technology Study, a study performed each year in order to know the main trends in restoring US, We surveyed more than 32.000 professionals in restaurants. The aim was to identify the degree of technological investment current and future industry.

The findings of the study shows positive symptoms, but it is a rather slow progress.

Innovation in restaurants

We are at an ideal time for enhance the competitive advantages of our restaurant through technology innovation. For those thinking of doing something new in your restaurant, we have identified the main trends revealed in the study mentioned.

The technology budget has increased, but it is not properly managed

Technology budgets in American restaurants have increased every year for the past five. After the debacle 2009-10 and "static" period 2011-12, the trend returns to growth, although at the moment it is quite slow.

In any case, the problem for many restaurants will not be the insufficient budget, but one bad choice in the allocation of funds. Most managers want to invest more in innovative technology like installation of coffee shop POS system to enhance their customer experience but there is no possibility of obtaining the expected benefits and allow give way to new investments in technological innovations.

The priority is the customers
The main investment restaurants in recent years has been linked to software. While it was allowing systems and POS terminals improved work so far inside the restaurant, investments in the coming years appear to be aimed at improve the customer experience, improve mobility, and encourage new forms of communication with users in the digital world.

Through the implementation of technological innovations aimed at improving customer engagement, as apps for loyalty or CRM's, restaurants have to keep pace with their customers, millennials, viejennials or any generation, but in any case hyper and eager to increasingly exciting experiences.

The importance of professional advice
The study divides Restaurant Technology Study managers surveyed restaurants two groups: on the one hand, those with predisposition for innovation, and they are ahead of the competition with this, and on the other stragglers, but who are investing in technology, or it is very little and insufficient, or is an unfortunate shape and are not getting positive results.

Is about different ways to approach the implementation of technological innovations in business. We can find out the hospitality implemented in virtually any industry.

Those who bet on innovation, They tend to be guided by professionals, and even though at any given investment may be higher, eventually they get increased profitability, thanks to a correct strategy.

The upshot of all this is that, we are in the group we are, we must always rely on a professional and well-designed strategic plan specifically for our restaurant. Nothing to get carried away or improvise.

Big Data analysis is and will be essential
Although investment in technological innovation in the world of hospitality have increased, a particular trend is glimpsed, and it seems that restaurants do not look much for your future.

In this context, the control of Analytics is key to understanding the data we get from digital sources, but Very few restaurant owners who are investing in Big Data analysis.

Knowing customers through the results will need to hit the gastronomic, as well as personalize the experiences we offer from our restaurant. A key to success although we are already warning in this newspaper for a long time, yet monopolizes the percentage of investment desired.

Future perspectives
Although the catering industry is doing steady progress, levels of adoption of technological innovations, They are still relatively slow. Because although we have read a lot about printing 3D food, Augmented Reality, the chatbots and other systems IA, still It is not easy to see these innovations in a significant number of restaurants. It is not in the sample studied by Business Tech Hospitality Technology Magazine, nor in the rest of the world.

And it is increasingly important winning customer engagement, why restaurateurs have to try and implement tools that allow them to speak their language. We talk about effective apps (Very few restaurants have a), mobile payments, automated and especially the interaction orders through social networks. A whole universe of innovative technology trends that will improve the customer experience, both before and during and after passing by the restaurant.