Why an Online Food Ordering App is the need of the hour?

The shift was so much so that the online food delivery has become a global market worth more than $150 billion, having more than tripled since 2017. Quoting an example of the United States, where the market alone has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, following healthy historical growth of 8 percent.

In such a situation when dine-in restaurants across the globe have taken a back seat and online food delivery industry is on the boom, it’s a high time for those who are either already into restaurant business and are planning to start online food delivery or those who are about to step into the online food delivery industry, to act wisely and to opt the most suitable way to ensure online food delivery in the most efficient way. And in any situation, having an online food delivery app is the need of the hour.

What makes food delivery app must for a restaurant?

There is a dire need of the best online food delivery software that comes with an efficient food delivery app to survive into a restaurant business in the current scenario. And there are multiple factor behind–the high penetration of smartphones, internet enabled devices, the fast changing eating patterns and growing competition in the online food delivery industry where the food delivery giants are promising instant deliveries–there are some factors that often makes it mandatory for the restaurant owners to own a online food delivery software in order to run the restaurant business or to meet out the increased consumer expectation in an hassle free manner.

Here are some reasons why it is mandatory for any food delivery ecosystem to have an online food delivery app:-

1. Instant delivery expectation

The advent of appealing, user-friendly apps and tech-enabled driver networks, coupled with changing consumer expectations, has unlocked ready-to-eat food delivery as a major category. And it has further forced the food delivery giants to opt instant deliveries in order to take online food delivery to the next level.

2. Cut throat competition in online food delivery industry

Competition in almost all industries is high and the online food delivery industry is no exception. In the present post pandemic era when there is a boom in the industry and the competition is high, there is a need to put in something extra in order to remain in the competition. Hence, opting for suitable online food delivery software that comes with a food delivery app is perhaps the smart way out to remain in the business and to carry out online food deliveries in a hassle free manner.

3. Inability to seamlessly execute restaurant order tracking

Online food delivery apps come with many interesting features. And of the many, the order tracking feature is perhaps one of the most important features that ensure smooth fulfillment of online orders and to meet out the volumes of orders efficiently.

4. Automatic allocation and disposal of orders

Online food delivery software comes with some unique features. Of the many features, automatic allocation of orders of orders to the delivery agent and ensures its disposal. This is one such feature that often makes it important for those into restaurant business to compulsorily have online food delivery app.

5. Easy to do payments

Increasing competition has given customers a wider range of choices. If restaurant delivery services are unable to satisfy customer needs, they would change to a different service provider. Hence by opting a suitable food delivery software, the restaurant owner can give a wide choice of payment gateways to the consumers, which is another major option in the online food ordering application.

6. Geo-fencing

This unique feature in the online food delivery software enables the restaurant owner to mark the delivery area, doing which the owner can make the best use of the resources and may not spend excessively on the delivery cost. This is one of the most cost effective features of the online food delivery apps.

7. Lack of capabilities to incorporate customer preferences

Customers prefer to have flexibility in the choice of delivery slots and track their orders in real-time. A food delivery system enables the consumers to track their orders and at the same time file their response on it, which in return adds to the loyalty.

8. Missed and late deliveries

A food delivery service needs to manage several orders at once. Doing this manually, at times, results in deliveries being performed late or missed. This means loss of time, resources and an angry customer. The efficient online food ordering application ensures that no delivery is missed and late deliveries are bare minimum.

9. Making use of the data

With an online food delivery software, you (as a restaurant owner) can ensure to get data of your delivery agents that include details like total deliveries received, orders completed, orders delayed, your delivery associate status, and total vehicles (availability, in-transit) to ensure communication link is maintained.

10. Greater reach

Your restaurant seating capacity maybe 100-200 at a time, or even less, but with online ordering, you can reach thousands of people at a time, and cater to a much larger number without having to make any additional investment in staff or infrastructure. All you need is well-integrated online ordering software and you are good to go!

These are some of the reasons that make it mandatory for the restaurant owner to opt for an online food ordering app in order to ensure survival in the food delivery industry. The fact further got corroborated by the recent study that proved that the online food ordering app or online food delivery application is a new normal and is going to stay.

Recent consumer surveys show that 67% of US consumers will be very cautious about dining in a restaurant once they reopen, and 12% claim they may never go back to dining in at all. A recent study in the UK shows that of those who ordered delivery for the first time, or more often than usual, 60% said they would continue their frequency of ordering delivery from restaurants, or takeaways (70%). More than a third (37%) also claimed they were likely to order delivery from pubs and bars in the future, if available.

Conclusion

Hence going by the current scenario in the restaurant industry it is mandatory for the restaurant owner to opt for an online food ordering app in order to survive in the prevailing cut throat competition. Having an online ordering system can make day-to-day operations more efficient for a restaurant. On the other hand, when a customer places an order online, they take their time to browse the menu and get familiar with add-on deals and offers that your restaurant must be offering. This can lead to an exponential increase in the total sale value per order. An online ordering system for restaurants helps enhance the customer-restaurant relationship by providing an end to end Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.