Tech on the Menu: 5 Restaurant Trends Set to Transform Your Dining Experience in 2024
Technology and innovation are two strengths that helped the restaurant industry to thrive during the pandemic and adapt to the demands of the time. From drone- based deliveries to robotics in the kitchen, many inventions reshaped the dining experience for restaurants and industry stakeholders.
As we bid farewell to 2023 and 2024 is already here, it’s important to know about the technology trends that will continue to bring us up to code in 2024.
Trend #1- Voice-Activated Ordering and Service
The introduction of a voice-activated ordering system helped the restaurant industry to leverage the power of voice recognition to improve customer interaction. Integrating this technology in the restaurant app enables customers to place orders over a simple command and tweak the order according to their eating habits, spice levels, and dietary restrictions, which is daunting otherwise.
Using voice-activated systems is an easy way to encourage customers to explore menus and learn about listed dishes and their nutritional information. As order customization is a growth deciding factor for the restaurant industry, voice-based ordering systems simplify the entire process.
People don’t have to write or explain their cooking preferences, ingredient substitutions, or opting for certain portion sizes in detail. A simple voice command will process these requests and ensure that the order reflects the customer's preferences accurately. It’s a huge time and effort-saving move.
Combining a voice-ordering system with a payment tool or POS simplifies and speeds up the payment process. Already, the voice ordering trend is gathering the limelight as a recent survey revealed that over 44% of users would prefer using a voice query to find restaurants. This move not only reduces the physical interaction with menus or payment terminals but also improves the overall customer experience.
Impact of The Trend
Adopting this technology also helps restaurant owners gain a first-mover advantage and polish the user experience. It makes placing orders, doing table reservations, putting forward inquiring, and customer-restaurant engagements highly convenient.
Trend #2- Blockchain for Transparency in the Food Supply Chain
Already, blockchain has taken center stage in handling and maintaining the transparency of data. Pioneering blockchain for streamlining the food supply chain will boom in 2024.
Employing blockchain in this domain enables the generation of highly transparent ledgers for recording the movement of food products throughout the supply chain. As blockchain is a distributed ledger operational using a decentralized network of computers, it will be easy to eliminate the single point of control or failure.
When the supply chain is already disturbed, and a shortage of resources can increase difficulties for restaurant owners, the use of blockchain will provide insights into how the product was produced, processed, and distributed.
Restaurants, bars, bakeries, and other related verticals can leverage blockchain to promote the end-to-end traceability of each food product and streamline delivery. Industry players can log every step of the supply chain as a food item completes its journey from farm to table.
When it comes to maintaining quality standards, blockchain has an important role to play in the restaurant industry. Restaurant owners can record the historical data related to the production, processing, and distribution of food products in a ledger. It will remain accurate and tamper-proof for years to come.
Impact of The Trend
Integrating blockchain in the food supply chain will reduce food wastage instances and promote effective usage of available resources. Every point of contact in the supply chain can address an issue that accelerates the remedial and response time.
Trend #3- Restaurants will Continue Going Contactless
Going contactless is paramount for any player in this realm to thrive. Widespread adoption of contactless ordering and payment systems is like hitting two birds with one stone as it promotes hygiene and workflow efficiency.
Around 76% of those in the restaurant industry have confirmed that they will continue using contactless technology. In a recent survey, 51% of served individuals admitted that a QR-code-based menu has a great influence on their experience with a restaurant. One of the biggest reasons is the easy access to required information.
Over a simple scan, diners can gain insights into menus, chefs, menu item prices, and payment sources. So, if you don’t have a QR code for your business, get one using the digital menu to boost customer engagement.
Going contactless is beyond using a digital menu. Its dynamics are changing and expanding. The recent addition in this domain is the integration of NFC technologies for payments. It enables customers to make payments on a single tap through preferred options. From e-wallets to credit cards, every possible payment mode comes at your disposal for swift payments.
Along with menus and payments, tables are also becoming contactless. With smart tables, restaurants can set up interactive dining spaces wherein customers can swipe a digital menu on their table, place an order, customize it, and pay for the order without going through a physical order or contacting any staff.
Impact of The Trend
Adopting contactless technologies for the restaurant will positively enhance the safety and hygiene quotient of a restaurant as physical interaction is minimal. The benefits list continues with top-notch customer convenience and improved operational efficiency.
Trend #4- AI to Deal With Staff Scantiness
AI is not a novel technology. However, how this technology streamlines workflow and opens new growth avenues makes it an integral part of every industry. For the restaurant industry, AI or artificial intelligence is solving staff shortage concerns in multiple ways.
For instance, they have the power of AI chatbots that can handle a myriad of operations, such as taking online orders, resolving common concerns, and streamlining customer interactions. This way, restaurants can operate with fewer staff without compromising on the quality of the service delivery.
Restaurants can tweak AI and use it to do predictive staff scheduling. AI can gauge the historical data related to repetitive order, footfall patterns, seasonal variations, etc. Based on this data, restaurants can optimize the staff according to the workflow burden.
This way, restaurants can prevent understaffing during busy periods and overstaffing during slower times.
Integrating AI-powered robotics for routine tasks in the kitchen, such as food preparation or dishwashing, can alleviate the strain on kitchen staff. Chefs can have a mechanized helping hand 24*7.
Impact of The Trend
Maneuvering AI for staff storage in the restaurant industry brings multiple impactful outcomes both at the operational and customer experience levels. On one hand, AI helps automate routine and tedious tasks to reduce the human staff need. On the other hand, AI reduces errors, increases efficiency, and can handle repetitive tasks without being bored. Hence, customers’ specific needs and concerns are addressed properly.
Trend #5: Food Subscriptions Model on Rise
In the era of Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon Prime subscriptions, the restaurant industry can’t overlook the importance of food delivery and dine-in subscriptions. The idea of saving a great deal of money in the long run excites all of us. Combine it with push notifications and observe better engagement.
For frequent dinners, subscriptions help them to enjoy the perks of cost-saving with their regular dining expenditures.
Impact of The Trend
Introducing the subscription model will help the restaurant industry to establish a regular income flow.
Get Ready For 2024
After bidding adieu to 2023 on a positive note, it’s time to gear up for 2024. Restaurants should start to pave the path for revolutionary technology trends like the use of QR codes, smart tables, AI solutions, voice-assisted order systems, and others that we discussed here.
They all will help them to deal with ebbs and flows to come. A path carved using these technologies will lead to success for restaurants, food delivery businesses, online food websites, and other parallel domains.