Survey: Predictive ordering appeals to operatorsSurvey: Predictive ordering appeals to operators

Illustration: NRN/Anna Kang

Predictive ordering technology appeals to more than half of restaurant operators surveyed for new research from the National Restaurant Association.

About 53 percent of more than 500 operators surveyed for the NRA’s Restaurant Technology Survey ranked predictive ordering technology at the top of features they would like to adopt.

“Looking forward, the most important area of technological development in the next five years, according to restaurant operators, is customer ordering and loyalty programs,” Annika Stensson, NRA director of research communications, told the NRA Innovation Summit in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.

For future adoption, predictive ordering that offered suggested items based on customer’s previous purchases topped the operators’ list, Stensson said. 

Annika Stensson, NRA director of research communications, shared the results of a recent survey with participants of the NRA Innovation Summit. Photo: Ron Ruggless

Such technology is already being used in other retail segments, such as with Amazon’s “Recommend for You” suggestions, and the guidance for streamed movies and television shows.

“That’s like what Netflix suggests on what to watch next,” Stensson said. 

More than a third of surveyed restaurant operators were interested in adopting automatic menu price adjustments or dynamic pricing based on peak and off-peak hours, she said. That would be similar to surge pricing with ride-share providers like Uber, Stensson said.

Barriers to adding technology, Stensson noted in her presentation, include cost as the primary hurdle and implementation, service and repair, as well as well as operators’ concerns about customer acceptance.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
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