It’s no secret that people like eating fresh food from the comfort of the home. It’s also no secret that people like to do so even more if they don’t have to be the ones to cook that food in the first place. And if you don’t have to clean up either? Now that’s really hitting the sweet spot.

Yes, food delivered to your front door is a wonderful thing, whether it’s Sunday evening and you are feeding twenty people watching the football game or you called in “sick” and don’t feel like doing anything but lay in bed and eat delicious Pad Thai while watching Curb Your Enthusiasm and Game of Thrones. Hey, we aren’t here to judge — we are mere providers of the world’s best restaurant online ordering software.

In the paragraph above, we listed the two most stereotypical delivery food choices — pizza and Asian food. We are here to tell you, the restaurant owner or decision maker, that if you still believe food delivery service is only for a select few kinds of restaurants or cuisines, well, you’ve got it all wrong buddy.

Today’s post is going to take a look at what the experts have to say about restaurant food ordering and why restaurants of all kinds need to take advantage of the direction that the restaurant industry is being steered toward.

What The Experts Have To Say

Who is steering the industry toward more delivery and less dine-in customers you ask? Why, the consumers themselves of course! Consider this Morgan Stanley study from last year:

“Enticed by mobile apps and shrinking delivery fees, many consumers are increasingly dining in on any kind of food they desire—not just pizza—via direct delivery…Meanwhile, more restaurants, including some large fast food chains, are now making delivery part of their strategies. As a result, 40% of total restaurant sales—or $220 billion could be up for grabs by 2020, compared with current sales of around $30 billion, Glass and his colleagues conclude in a recent report based on new AlphaWise survey results that look at trends driving the shift, as well as the broader implications for restaurants, internet companies, and consumers and investors.”

The article leads off with the line, “There may never be a better time to be a homebody.” Indeed, but we might amend that statement to include that there never be a better time to be a restaurant owner with a delivery service and a robust online ordering software (from Online Orders Now) that seamlessly integrates into your POS, saving you both time and money in a practical way.

Maybe that’s a bit wordy. It doesn’t mean it isn’t true though!

Other findings from this study:

• There is a year-over-year uptick in consumer interest in food delivery interest. This is across restaurant brands, but most predominantly with burger chains, and, perhaps surprisingly, coffee shops.
• From last year to this year, the percentage of orders placed through an online ordering system increased from 15 percent to 18 percent.
• Over 40 percent of restaurant consumers who used a delivery service to order food have reported that it replaced a meal from a restaurant. This figure is up from 38 percent in 2016, which tells us that there is an incremental cannibalization of dine-in meals happening. People like to stay in an watch reruns of The Office while they eat delicious food. And honestly, who can blame them!?
• By 2022, digital food delivery could easily make up 11 percent of the total market as opposed to 6 percent that it currently comprises.

So, What’s Next?

Alright, we’ve hopefully convinced you, with the help of the good folks at Morgan Stanley, that adding a delivery service (along with a restaurant ordering system) is a must. However, there are a good number of food ordering system providers out there that charge you up the wazoo for commission — often taking 20 percent or more on each order used through their system. Software Advice notes,

“Restaurants are signing up with third-party providers as a way to gain exposure and reach new customers. But as they continue to rely on third-parties—and as commission fees grow alongside increasing food orders—restaurants are forfeiting a significant chunk of their revenue and hurting their bottom line, instead of growing their business.”

This is where Online Orders Now comes into play. We represent an option that is affordable, sophisticated, and doesn’t overstep our bounds when it comes to what we charge. Here’s what Online Orders Now offers that others flat-out do not:

• Lower cost (our competitors often charge up to 20 percent on each order)
• Easy-to-use, integrative system (no retyping orders)
• Direct integration with your preferred point of sale software
• Exclusive features such as “My Way” (our individualized “favorites” menu that works even when menus are updated)
• Non-integrated ordering options
• Non-exclusivity (allows you to use a variety of food delivery platforms without issue)

Moreover, we offer unlimited transactions, which means that, regardless of your monthly order volume, you’ll pay the same monthly rate with no fees or limits based on order volume. Here’s a few more features that our current clients love:

• POS Integration – We put the order into your POS system and then print out the tickets while the customer is still online. It’s exactly like having an invisible cashier taking orders — only this cashier never makes a mistake!
• 30 Percent Larger Tickets – When folks order over an online ordering system for restaurants, their orders are an average of 30 percent greater in total price. This is because customers can take the time to browse the menu while potentially taking advantage of promotions, add-ons, or other specials that they are presented with during the shopping process. Compare the experience of browsing on your phone or tablet to talking on the phone or ordering over the counter with a hungry, impatient line behind you, and you can see the rationale pretty easily.
• A Custom Website – We’ll build you a custom website that looks great on desktop computers, tablets, and phones! What’s more, our designers will make sure it captures your restaurant’s essence while still having all the bells and whistles a sophisticated, modern website should have. You need to be able to meet customers where they are at with a dynamic menu and ordering system — throwing a PDF of your menu, your phone number and address just doesn’t cut it anymore, folks!

View Pricing

Interested in viewing our restaurant online ordering software pricing? I guess we could have just said “pricing” there, but that’s just not as fun. With a variety of packages, you can choose the one that is best for you. If you have any questions or are ready to start capitalizing on a fast-growing sector of the restaurant industry, reach out to us today!