Restaurants must realize that in 2024 they must bring their business online in order to sustain and grow their business. With only a few taps on their phones, consumers can now order their favorite food, ushering in a new era of convenience.

People now prefer to stay at home, enjoy their favorite programs, and eat until their heart's content rather than going out to dine or making reservations at restaurants.

If you manage a restaurant and have only ever taken phone orders for delivery or takeout, you might be interested to learn about the benefits of online orders.

Why Are Restaurants Choosing Online Ordering?

Customers Discover New Items

Online menus help customers explore and discover items that your restaurant offers but they were unaware of them. This might seem straightforward, but when a customer places a phone order, they might not have a menu in front of them, so they order what they remember or hear from the restaurant's representative on the phone.

Customer Has Limited Time

When placing an order online, the customer has the freedom to go through the whole menu, and comfortably decide about all the appetizers, add-on items, desserts, drinks and any other item that they are in the mood to add in their order.  It gives them the freedom to place their order at their own pace.

Upselling Opportunities

When the restaurants’ customers get the opportunity to order from their favorite restaurants online, the restaurants also get the opportunity to showcase and upsell more items to the customers which they may be interested in, but do not know about. Imagine a bustling restaurant during peak hours. In the restaurant, the order taker largely plays another job.

As hostesses, waiters, chefs, or managers, play a major part. They are all working on multiple tasks at once. Want it or not, they often rush the customer placing the order. The customer lacks the time to consider the supplemental products that they may want to order. It makes sense why phone orders are outperformed by internet orders.

Online Order Is A Modern Habit

In the modern world many have grown up in a society where convenience is king, with Millennials today spending more money than baby boomers. For them, phones are only for messaging, not for making phone calls. They arrange dates without even chatting on the phone with their date. It makes sense that people would just order food online out of their habits as they already order their apparel and groceries online. The size of the order is irrelevant to Millennials or Gen Xers because their main concern is how they are placing the order.

Assurance Of Secure Payment Methods

It's never a good idea to share private credit card details over an insecure line. Payment choices for ordering over the phone are very limited and can be extremely risky. 

Storing or processing customers' private credit card data securely is a constant source of frustration for eateries. On the other hand, online ordering offers a variety of payment options which are completely secure and very convenient for both the customer and the restaurant. 

Improved Customer Experience

When you offer the option of ordering online to your customers, you not only give them plenty of time to peruse the menu, but also make your restaurant's most important communication material i.e. the menu with photos and prices easily available to them. Before making a purchase, they can carefully study the descriptions and browse the menu. They do not have to hurry in placing the order and it certainly improves their experience.

They can research the restaurant online by reading reviews left by other users, along with appreciating the smooth and functional workflow of the technology you are using before trying your restaurant out and becoming a satisfied returning customer. The customer can expect reasonable and current pricing online, as well as the information about any specials or discounts without having to depend on a representative to tell them about it.

Save Time And Resources For Restaurants

Usually, when someone wants to get a pizza over the phone, they call, place the order, and then hang up. The employee never has time to discuss promotions and extras to upsell. Also, it requires a full-time employee of the restaurant to be committed just for taking orders. On the other hand, a fully functional mobile site allows customers to view your entire menu of products, which may result in a few extra sales each time. In addition, online ordering is mostly automated so you do not have to have a dedicated person to take orders, instead the employee can focus on other important tasks.

Simple Changes Could Boost Revenue!

Phone ordering is on a downward trend and you shouldn't place all of your money on it. Making the investment in online ordering at your restaurant will allow you to better serve the needs of the patrons.

So, instead of relying solely on offline channels, expand your horizons and explore the possibility of an online ordering system for your business.

Restaurant owners use every step imaginable to boost their profits. It's easy to miss small changes that have the power to make a huge difference. It is obvious that using online ordering is a quick and straightforward approach for restaurants to increase revenue per order while also improving customer satisfaction.