Should restaurants invest in convenience, or an experience?
The answer may be both.
At the FSTEC conference Tuesday, a panel of consumers from across generations took the stage to give their thoughts on technology in restaurants, and where they’d like to see the industry go from here.
And generally, they seemed to agree that while things like online ordering and kiosks can be useful, and even preferred at times, they don’t want to see the human element of restaurants disappear entirely.
The conversation came five years after COVID-19 forced many restaurants to invest in digital ordering modes like mobile apps and third-party delivery for the first time. Those channels are growing, but still make up less than 20% of the overall pie. The vast majority of customers still interact with restaurants in person. And most of the seven consumers on the panel seemed happy with that ratio.
“I love the social interaction,” said Riley, age 22, a member of tech-savvy Generation Z. “When I worked in the restaurant industry, that was my favorite part of the job, just getting to talk to people.”
Two millennials on the panel agreed that the 80/20 split feels right. Nia, 30, said she worries about what will happen to her niece’s ability to interact with people if restaurants continue their shift toward digital ordering.
“If someone says, ‘Hello, how are you?’ [my niece] freezes up. It’s so awkward and she doesn’t want to interact,” she said. “I feel like if that goes away, it’s going to get even worse for the next generation.”
Not surprisingly, the older folks in the bunch also favored more human contact in restaurants, and not just because they might be less familiar with digital ordering methods. Rolando, 72, noted that as people age, opportunities to socialize become scarce.
“I think interacting with food providers is an important social encounter, because people have to eat, and many are isolated for various reasons,” he said. “There’s an opportunity here, I think, for your industry.”
Sunshine, a millennial, said the right level of human interaction really depends on the restaurant. In a fast-food context, she’s happy to order digitally, but at a fine-dining place, she wants hands-on service.
“It’s just all about the level of experience I’m expecting,” she said.
The responses mirrored comments from many operators during the three-day event who said they are now focusing on how they can use tech to get closer to their customers, rather than further away. Many brands that have added self-service kiosks said they are now thinking about redeploying some workers as hosts or greeters to help customers navigate the ordering experience, for instance.
There is some data to support this approach. According to Technomic, customer satisfaction is 4% lower when the person orders online versus in person. Brands with kiosks tend to have lower satisfaction scores.
“Culturally, we expect some hospitality,” said Rich Shank, VP of innovation at Technomic. “We advise brands to be available wherever the customer wants to interact with you,” whether that’s through an app, a kiosk or an employee at the counter.
Despite broad agreement on that topic among the generations, there were some notable differences between age groups. The Gen Zers were far more likely to use technology when given the choice. Riley has 18 food apps on her phone. Claudia, also 22, has 32.
Both had more apps than the rest of the group combined. And they were more motivated by loyalty programs and the promise of free food.
“Even if it’s my first time trying a place, I would be likely to go download their app and see if they have a reward system,” Riley said.
At the same time, even the youngsters want to have options. Asked whether they’d visit a coffee shop where you could only order from an app, all but one (Claudia) said they’d walk out and look for the nearest Starbucks.
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