Casual dining restaurants are the backbone of the American dining scene. These are your Applebee’s, your Olive Gardens, and your TGI Fridays. They’re the restaurants where you can grab a drink and some appetizers with your coworkers after work or bring the whole family after Little League practice for a moderately priced meal in a laid-back atmosphere.
There’s often a TV playing in the background somewhere, but you’re still served by wait staff who may or may not be festooned with quirky pins.
It may be hard to believe, but soon that TV may not be the only technology you’re interacting with at your favorite casual dining restaurant.
Self-service Kiosks / Touchscreen Point of Sale Terminals
You may have seen freestanding self-service kiosks popping up in fast-food restaurants. While this concept may at first seem antithetical to casual dining restaurants because you’d expect to tell the wait staff your order, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that you don’t have to queue up to use them.
Instead, at these restaurants, a mini self-service kiosk could be attached to your table — similar to the way a tabletop jukebox at a retro diner-like Johnny Rockets lets you personalize the music at your table. Alternatively, the host or wait staff may lend you an iPad that acts as a touchscreen point of sales terminal.
Depending on the individual self-service kiosk, you may be able to view and select menu items, customize your selection to meet your dietary needs and preferences, request refills, and pay. It apparently entices patrons to indulge more, as customers tend to order 20% more from a self-service kiosk than from wait staff.
Part of this may be the convenience this technology provides. It offers faster service than having to flag down a busy waiter, which means there’s more opportunity for impulse purchases and less time for you to change your mind. According to one study, 65% of customers of all ages say they would actually go to a restaurant more often if there were self-service kiosks available.
QR Codes
The New York Public Library has a monstrous collection of menus, which offer a fascinating look into food and restaurant trends over the years. Now it’s crowdscourcing help to transcribe them.
These days, if you go to a restaurant, you may not get a paper menu as you did in the past. Instead, you’ll be required to use your smartphone to scan a QR code that will bring up the menu.
Industry insiders say that what was once a function of the pandemic is now here to stay. In addition to being more sanitary than paper or plastic-coated menus, QR codes allow restaurants to make quick and easy updates to the menu. They can delete entrees that have sold out and add specials.
Customers are on the fence about QR codes. Some disdain them. However, one survey found that 45% of people prefer using their phone to consult the menu, order, and pay than interacting directly with wait staff during the pandemic. Another survey found that 40% would like to continue using contactless technology post-pandemic.
Looking ahead, QR codes are being integrated with technology that helps assess menu data and implement coupon codes. Some speculate that QR codes may lead to more dynamic pricing at restaurants.
Contactless Payment
During the pandemic, contactless payment has been on the rise. It’s now being used across the country in various industries, including the restaurant industry. This technology allows customers to make a payment using their smartphone or smartcard through a touchless device or app.
Paper money is said to carry more germs than your home toilet. The flu virus can even live on it for a little over two weeks. Needless to say, contactless payment offers a hygienic solution to the restaurant industry.
Not surprisingly, 61% of Americans surveyed prefer to purchase from businesses that use contact-free payment. Across the globe, contactless payment is expected to increase from the $2 trillion it was in 2020 to $6 trillion in 2024. That said, restaurants may want to still accept cash in addition to the contactless payment option, as some patrons — particularly those who are older, special needs, or low-income — may not own smartphones, have chip-embedded debit or credit cards, or have access to online payment platforms.
Robot Servers
At the start of the pandemic, many restaurant workers were let go amid restaurant closures and cutbacks, fell ill, or resigned from their jobs as low-paid essential workers. Those who remained faced heavier workloads and battled COVID-19 variants.
Restaurants have begun hiring robots to help out with staff shortages. Robots are able to perform the heavier lifting of trays and even interact with customers. Fewer human staff members could also mean salary wages can increase.
Anecdotal evidence suggests customers like robot servers. A restaurant in Florida found that tips actually increased for staff when they hired a robot, while a restaurant in Texas found that customers liked that the robots giggled and sang.
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