While off-premise dining really took off during the pandemic, it’s a trend that’s here to stay. Making up about 75 per cent of all restaurant traffic, accounting for 58 per cent of quick-service and 41 per cent of full-service sales, takeout and delivery are an important part of restaurant operations.
Maximize your margins for off-premise dining with a few simple steps:
Target your customers
Generationally, Gen Z and millennials make up the bulk of off-premise diners, saying takeout is an essential part of their lifestyle, and about 60 per cent of these age groups order takeout or use a drive-thru weekly. This demonstrates the importance of targeting these age groups with your menu, promos, and marketing to get their attention and pique their interest. This might mean using social media more, too. Search popular hashtags for inspiration, embrace food TikTok trends, and promote “menu hacks” to get the attention of this crowd on social media.
Maximize technology
Do you have a seamless ordering and delivery system? Mobile ordering is being used by 57 per cent of diners, including 74 per cent of millennials and 65 per cent of Gen Z. Make sure that the ordering process is simple across all platforms for a seamless experience. This may mean investing in your own user-friendly app so you have better control over the guest experience every step of the way. Also, consider adding features like order recall, personalization, and suggestive selling to up guest cheques and boost loyalty.
Additionally, make your food seem more attractive with high-quality food photos for your online menus. Studies show that this can improve menu conversion rates by 25 per cent, increasing total food orders by more than 35 per cent.
Improve your product
After admiring the online images, customers want to receive what they ordered, so focusing on the packaging and maintaining the integrity of your menu is important. According to Technomic’s Delivery and Takeout report, 65 per cent of consumers say it’s important that packaging maintains the food or drink’s temperature so that they receive the same experience off-premise that they would enjoy at your restaurant. 47 per cent say it’s important that packaging is tamper-proof, so that’s another simple way to improve the customer experience. As far as connecting with takeout and delivery diners, sustainability is a concern, with 39 per cent of diners looking for eco-friendly packaging. While your menu is certainly important, the way the meal arrives can also determine whether off-premise guests will return to your restaurant.
As takeout and delivery dining continues to make up a large part of restaurant sales, operators will need to focus on delivering exceptional experiences to drive traffic and loyalty through 2025.
