Restaurants Apple Pay and Customers ‘Aging-In’ Customers ‘Aging-Out’

Is your restaurant ‘Looking A Customer Ahead’ or are you looking at customers today? Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will soon change the retail food landscape once again.  Is your restaurant ready to accept Apple Pay?  Many are including Subway, Panera Bread and McDonald's.

Nielsen reports that more and more of us seemingly live our lives online, connected day and night through our smart phones, tables, computers.  Nielsen found that we ”research our purchases online (63 percent), look up reviews (63 percent) and find online shopping convenient (78 percent), but we are still hesitant to make some types of purchases online.”  That research may be outdated with the launch of iPhone 6.

Restaurant sales increased once were driven by new spring and fall menu changes creating buzz around customer relevance.  Today Limited Time Offers (LTO’s) arrive at minimum every 6 weeks at major chains and monthly at most independent restaurants. More often than not today customer relevance is dictated by technology specifically ease of use, hand held information, hand held offers, and real time tweets or invitations. 

Nielsen found that “Americans’ willingness to make airline and hotel/tour reservations, and to buy electronic equipment, ebooks and music (non-download) have all more than doubled in the last three years. With Apple Pay those reluctant to pay online which according to Nielsen is about 37% might quickly change their mind. With Apple Pay your credit card number does not get exchanged during the transaction.

If your are ‘Looking A Customer Ahead’ look no further than Millennials a recent survey found that Millennials make up more than half of all ecommerce channels sales and are about four time the representation of Baby Boomers. If you’re ‘Looking A Customer Ahead’ you need to focus on Millennials for they are “aging-in” just as Boomers are “aging-out”.

Foodservice Solutions® team quantified, qualified, restaurant industry customer count declines due to the 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome and that same team believes Apple Pay will become a disruptive force moving forward. The growth of Apple Pay is more likely to be exponential than linear, just because that has been true sine Moore propounded his famous law.

You may have Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food but my point is simple no mater your menu, service style or location your customer relevance may well decline if you don’t adopt Apple Pay. The consumer is dynamic not static your restaurant must be as well.  Is your restaurant “aging-in or “aging-out?

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing the same way.  Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.