Why should a restaurant have online ordering and delivery system?

When world’s first restaurant opened

Going by research papers available on the web, the history of restaurants goes back to 1765, when first restaurant was opened on Rue des Poulies, today the Rue du Louvre. On the front of the shop is engraved the Latin phrase: “Venite ad me omnes qui stomacho laboratis, et ego vos restaurabo.” This translates as, “Come to me, those whose stomachs ache, and I will restore you.”

The owner’s name was Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau. Other writings mentioned a certain Mr Boulanger. The establishment sold “restaurant” dishes such as poultry, eggs, buttered pasta, and semolina cakes, whose light color was said to have health benefits. It first enjoyed culinary success thanks to its signature dish of poultry with chicken sauce, which was renowned throughout Paris.

The philosopher Denis Diderot mentions the restaurant as early as 1767 in a letter to his correspondent and lover, Sophie Volland:

“If I have acquired a taste for the restorer? Really yes; an infinite taste. The service is good, a little expensive, but at the time you want . . . . It is wonderful, and it seems to me that everyone praises it.”

The writer Édouard Fournier also describes it in his book Paris démoli: Mosäique de Ruines (Paris Demolished: Mosaic of Ruins), published in 1853:

“Nearby, in the Rue des Poulies, the first Restaurant opened in 1765, which was later transferred to the Hôtel d’Aligre. It was a broth establishment, where it was not allowed to serve stew, as in the catering trade, but where poultry with coarse salt and fresh eggs were served without tablecloths, on small marble tables.”

And today, restaurant industry is a billion-dollar industry

Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau, the owner of the first restaurant however never had imagined that the restaurant, the foundation of which he laid back in 1765 would be billion-dollar industry one day. And the said transformation didn’t happen in ages, it just happened in last few years, especially in the post pandemic era. If the statistics with Grand View Research—that carries out multi-country research studies for clients across the globe are to be believed, the global online food ordering and delivery service market size was valued at USD 50.70 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.7% from 2022 to 2030.

“In pandemic, full-service restaurants business declined, online food ordering and delivery restaurants remained un-affected,” say experts

Indeed, the restaurant industry presents a rosy picture before those who are into the trade but in this fast-evolving industry, the experts say that survival is not going to be an easy task. “Pandemic has changed everything, even the restaurant industry. “Initially full-service restaurants faced tough competition before Covid 19 wreaked havoc. But in the post pandemic era, it was observed that the pandemic further declined the visits to full-service restaurants by almost 50 percent, while quick service restaurants that offer online food ordering and delivery were not severely affected. Soaring numbers of smartphones, food delivery application users in the US are further expected to grow over 50 million by 2023 in the US,” the experts said.

Online food ordering and delivery system to rule the market

Given the circumstances, the experts said in the days to come, the restaurants with online food ordering and delivery systems will rule the market. “Yes, that’s true. An online food ordering system is a software that allows restaurant businesses to accept and manage orders placed via online food delivery software and get it delivered,” say the expert who has spent almost a decade in the restaurant industry.

While explaining online ordering and delivery system, the expert says that it basically consists of a online food delivery software that is designed to ease the restaurant business by smoothening the entire process which starts right from placing the order through a mobile application, allocation of order to the delivery partner till the delivery of the order to the end user, who can make payment both online and off-line. How this system works? Through the system, the consumer can access the menu of the restaurant through the online food delivery software and can place the order accordingly.

Here are the steps involved in the online food ordering and delivery system:

1. Your customer browses your online menu through the online food delivery software.
2. They pick what they want to order, and add any delivery or meal instructions.
3. They pay directly through the system by the payment gateways or you can also choose to send them a payment link if you are taking the order over the phone.
4. The payment is processed securely and no payment details are stored on any device.
5. Your customer's order is delivered to their house or they can pick it up at a specific time.

Other than easing the entire process, the online food delivery via food delivery software has many advantages too:

Safety and healthy way

In the pandemic era, safety, social distancing and contactless ordering remained the top priority of all and in such a situation online ordering and delivering is perhaps the best suited thing which brought revolution in the entire restaurant industry. Ordering food online was safe and healthy.

Minimal room for error

Human intervention comes with errors too. Be it the business of restaurants or any other industry. But this was not the case with the restaurant having an online food ordering and delivery system in place as this mechanized system has reduced the error to the bare minimum. There are less chances of incorrect charging, less wastage of time and efficient working.

More customer loyalty

With the usage of online food delivery software in delivering food, the restaurant owners can boost up the customer loyalty by giving customized offers to the customers. It could be in the form of codes, coupons, discounts and so on. This will also boost up the rating and maximize the customer satisfaction.

Higher customer spends

With the help of the online food delivery software, the restaurant owner can study the customer behavior through the analysis and can increase order value when customers are online or can introduce surge pricing and can make more money.

Online food ordering on the rise

As per the study carried out by IMARC--leading market research company that provides market and business research intelligence across the globe, over the past few years the trend of online food ordering has been increasing. One of the major factors driving the market growth is the rising penetration of smartphones and internet connections which provide the opportunity to get the food delivered very conveniently and quickly. Online food delivery offers consumers with a wide range of food items available on their smartphones and the convenience of getting it delivered at their doorsteps. This online food ordering system is a new phase of the food business. Nowadays, an excellent restaurant which is into online food delivery via online food delivery software is amongst the most profitable ventures of all times. You can sail good profits if your food is good, and an appropriate food app is at the user’s disposal, then there is 100% guarantee that you will make good profits.

Another piece of information is that online ordering was already on the rise when Covid 19 struck and left the world almost paralysed. According to survey results from the National Restaurant Association, 60% of all restaurant and foodservice sales were takeout, drive-t​hrough, and delivery back in October 2019. Whereas in the spring of 2020, mandates in most states forced restaurants to only offer off-premise dining led to dine-in revenue declining by 68% across US. But today, over a year into the pandemic, many restaurants have wholeheartedly embraced online ordering — and they know it's here to stay, even when on-premise dining is back to normal levels. And after a challenging year, restaurant relief is in sight, President Biden signed the latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill (the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” or ARPA) into law in March of 2021. The bill includes a $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund intended to support small and medium-sized food and beverage businesses. This is a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel for independent restaurants. Still, the forecast is that many restaurants will retain their newly acquired focus on online food ordering and delivery systems into the future.