As we enter 2017, many restaurants will be congratulating themselves on making it through another busy festive season. Yet the New Year also provides an opportunity to plan and consider how to become even more successful in the 12 months ahead and one area that should be imminently front of mind for the hospitality sector is payments. For instance, data indicates that busy diners are demanding quick and easy ways to pay when eating and drinking out – with the latest Barclaycard Contactless Spending Index showing ‘touch and go’ payments in restaurants climbed a staggering 62 per cent in 2016 – meaning that offering contactless as well as other electronic options is becoming increasingly important.
Demonstrating the importance of keeping up with changing consumer appetites, Barclaycard’s recent ‘Dining-on-demand’ research found that:
- Four in time-pressed diners (37 per cent) prioritise quick service in restaurants, making this more important than menu choice (33 per cent) and value (21 per cent)
- Consumers are more likely to choose venues which offer contactless payments (15 per cent), the option to pre-order and pay via an app for both delivery and eating in a restaurant (15 per cent) or payment via mobile device at the table (14 per cent)
- Almost a fifth (18 per cent) of diners anticipate they will increase their usage of apps when visiting or ordering from restaurants in the next 12 months.
- Demand for new ways to pay is particularly prevalent amongst the millennial generation. Over a quarter (28 per cent) of 18-34 year olds are more likely to choose a restaurant that provides the option to pre-order and pay via an app, compared to 15 per cent of 35-54 year olds and 4 per cent of over 55s
To ensure customer expectations are met as we head into 2017, restaurant owners should continue to review and update their payment options in line with changing demands – or risk losing out on custom.
Sharon Manikon, Director of Customer Solutions at Barclaycard:
“As the restaurant sector enters a new era of ‘dining-on-demand’, the industry should look at how it can respond with the right technology to deliver the convenient service consumers have come to expect. While innovations such as contactless payments have really taken off over the past few years, diners are hungry for even more sophisticated options to speed up the entire process of ordering and paying.
As restaurants work to deliver an efficient service to today’s time-poor diners, it is important to remember the role payments play in the customer experience. Introducing new payment tools to respond to changing customer demands will go a long way to set restaurants up for success in 2017 and beyond.”