3 New Stats That Prove Your Restaurant Needs Online Ordering

Online ordering at restaurants has really taken off in the past few years, but until recently we didn’t realize just how much. New studies from 2017-2018 are being published every week—and the results are compelling.

It turns out, restaurants that don’t offer online ordering aren’t just missing out on a few customers here and there. They’re leaving money on the table. A lot of it.

Let’s explore three stats that demonstrate why your restaurant needs to offer online ordering.

1. Dine-In Traffic Is Slowing, Online Ordering Is Growing

Customers don’t visit restaurants in person like they used to. In 2017, delivery and carryout orders (39% of total transactions) surpassed dine-in orders (37%) in the United States. This trend is expected to continue as online ordering becomes faster and easier.

People aren’t spending less eating out, they’re simply redirecting their orders to restaurants that can better cater to their busy lifestyles. And where do you think they’ll go when they’re ready for an in-person experience—a familiar restaurant or one they’re in the habit of skipping over?

What You Gain: Adopting online ordering keeps your restaurant relevant in the mind of the modern consumer who prioritizes carryout/delivery.

Don’t Miss Out: By skipping online ordering, you lose access to revenue from customers who would rather order from a more convenient restaurant.

2. 67% Of Customers Don’t Want To Call Your Restaurant

Many restaurants haven’t adopted online ordering because they already offer call-in orders. Why have two stones for one bird?

But here’s the thing: your customers don’t really want to call you. 67% of customers across the country say they’d rather use an app or website, which means call-in ordering and online ordering don’t accomplish the same thing because they appeal to different people.

What You Gain: Attention and orders from convenience-oriented consumers who prefer ordering digitally (aka, most Americans).

Don’t Miss Out: Orders from customers who want carryout/delivery but decide they’d rather not speak on the phone and end up going somewhere else.

3. Up To 26% Higher Tickets From Online Orders

The case for online ordering largely revolves around staying relevant in the shifting marketplace, but there’s another benefit that makes the technology a no-brainer: customers spend more.

A study from Deloitte Digital found the following:

Fast Casual Restaurants experience 13% higher order tickets from online orders
Quick Service Restaurants experience 26% higher order tickets

Sure, there’s a small cost required to accept online orders via some software or platform, but the revenue gain easily outweighs it.

What You Gain: Overnight growth of your average ticket price.

Don’t Miss Out: Overnight growth of your average ticket price (it’s so significant we had to mention it twice).

When you consider the preferences of the market ever-trending towards speed and convenience, the question of if you should adopt online ordering becomes a question of when.

There’s much to gain by enabling your customers to order from an app or website—more than we’ve realized over the past few years—and the longer you wait, the more orders and revenue you’re missing out on unnecessarily.

It’s time to get started, don’t you think?