Branded Foodservice Locations Should use First Party Online Ordering Platforms

 

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes that there are several reasons why branded food outlets should consider using first-party online ordering platforms over third-party services:

·         Higher Profit Margins: Third-party delivery platforms typically charge commissions on each order, which can eat into a restaurant's profits. With a first-party platform, the restaurant keeps all the revenue.

·         Customer Data Ownership: When customers order through a third-party app, the restaurant doesn't get access to their contact information. This makes it difficult to build relationships with customers and run targeted marketing campaigns. With a first-party platform, the restaurant collects customer data directly, which they can use to personalize the ordering experience and loyalty programs.

·         Control Over the Brand Experience: Third-party platforms have limited customization options, and the overall experience might not reflect the restaurant's brand identity. With a first-party platform, restaurants can design the ordering experience to match their brand and offer features that are specific to their business.

·         Building Direct Customer Relationships: By encouraging customers to order directly, restaurants can build stronger relationships with them. This can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

Of course, there are also some challenges associated with using first-party platforms. These include the cost of developing and maintaining the platform, as well as the need to market it to customers and encourage them to switch from third-party apps. However, for many branded food outlets, the potential benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Now consider this:

Paytronix, recently published the 2024 Paytronix Online Ordering Report which found that guests transacting directly with a brand order 35% more items per check compared to those who order via third-party marketplaces. Online ordering represented 27% of all orders for restaurants and convenience stores in 2023, and operators in the top 25% of online ordering volume saw online orders jump to 62% of all their orders last year.

“The biggest takeaway is that while third party marketplaces have their uses, a first-party online ordering platform is key to a brand’s online ordering success,” said Tim Ridgely, Vice President of online ordering at Paytronix. ”Moreover, those brands that build a robust digital guest engagement platform that includes loyalty and a mobile app are better equipped to leverage modern AI tools, get closer to their guests, and deliver a powerful omnichannel guest experience.”

The 2024 Paytronix Online Ordering Report outlines how to optimize all of the systems and operations integral to a fully integrated guest engagement platform, with clear steps on how to:

·         Convert guests from third-party marketplaces to a first-party online ordering system

·         Consolidate technology for efficiency and better guest engagement

·         Use artificial intelligence to increase guest engagement

·         Leverage customer data for a personalized experience

The Paytronix report also celebrates the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and their advanced personalization capabilities, which make off-premises experiences feel as engaging as in-person ones. The report outlines how successful brands are leveraging AI to segment guest data, create personalized marketing campaigns, build rewards, and optimize menus to the needs of their customers. Operators are using these platforms to boost order frequency, anticipate future needs, and increase customer lifetime value.

Additional findings from the Online Ordering Report include:

·         Guests who order both in-store and online have the highest order frequency, the best retention, and 35% more lifetime value than customers who only order in-store.

·         First-party ordering platforms are the preferred method for consumers during lunch and dinner, and they also spend 30% more per transaction. However late-night orders (any time after 8pm) are nearly one third more likely to be done using third party marketplace apps.

·         Mobile apps generate 34% of digital orders, and mobile app users have a 45% higher CLV than web users.

·         Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) loyalty members place 38.4% of their orders online, while Full-Service Restaurant (FSR) counterparts order online 30.2% of the time.

·         Loyalty program members also shine when it comes to frequency, visiting their favorite establishments over 40% more often than non-members.

The Paytronix Online Ordering Report provides trends and actionable insights from Paytronix online ordering experts. It’s designed so restaurant and convenience store marketers, as well as operations and technology leaders, can benchmark online ordering tools and strategies and devise improvements to deliver breakthrough performance.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Restaurants, C-Stores, Deli’s It’s Not too late to start with Online Ordering

 

When you think about selling a meal or meal component, have you continued to say no way, not at all, or I tried it and it did not work for me? Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® wants you to rethink your position. Ask yourself why us and why now?

Here are some insights and research excerpts from our friends at Paytronix. That will help you understand why many restaurants, c-stores, and delis utilize online ordering, and why it might be time for you to test the waters.

“While restaurants, namely quick service (QSRs), have embraced digital ordering, not all convenience stores have taken the leap. Early adopters, such as United Dairy Farmers (UDF), are discovering that adding order and delivery to their digital guest engagement platform is a great way to increase sales on high-margin in-store merchandise, such as fresh-baked items and signature ice cream treats. 

But adding digital ordering doesn’t stand alone. It must be considered as part of a much larger digital guest engagement ecosystem. 

During the pandemic, digital orders emerged as a key part of the mix and are now expected by most customers. The nature of digital orders has changed as well. While delivery was king before and during the height of the pandemic, more recent data indicates that takeout orders now dominate this digital channel, with numbers even higher than they were pre-pandemic. Takeout jumped from approximately 35 percent of orders in January 2020 to nearly 64 percent now. 

What’s more, to meet customers where they are, brands must have a mobile app, and that app must work perfectly with loyalty rewards, your messaging platform and your CRM (customer relationship management). 

Sticking a Toe in the Water

As more and more c-stores expand their physical footprint to accommodate bakery and hot grill items, moving these fresh food items has become a big priority. Like QSRs, c-stores are gravitating toward a takeout model.

C-stores that facilitate this upswing in takeout orders through third-party services are finding a new, receptive client base waiting for them. Google Ordering is one example, with merchants who implement Google Ordering achieving a 0.08 percent lift in orders.

For UDF, which has 170 retail locations throughout the greater Cincinnati area as well as Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, online ordering was a natural extension of its existing U-Drive Plus loyalty program. With loyalty members driving 37 percent of overall sales, UDF welcomed online orders via its website or mobile app. Customers can now order ahead for a coffee and freshly baked doughnuts, and then pick up their breakfast on the way to work. 

Digital ordering also makes it easier for fuel buyers to get in and out of UDF stores and enjoy the brand’s growing assortment of “Oven Side” bakery products, hot food and ice cream treats. Customers are encouraged to shop in whatever way best meets their needs. Whether it’s supporting an in-store visit, an at-home delivery or a curbside pickup, the UDF guest engagement platform captures each transaction and builds a comprehensive view of guest preferences.

This further allows UDF to segment guests by fuel buyers vs. merchandise buyers, or even lapsed fuel buyers vs. those with high fuel buying frequency. Once UDF knows how frequently a guest visits and what they are purchasing, the retailer can create a personalized cadence. 

UDF can generate a 1-to-1 win back campaign or a 1-to-1 visit challenge for individuals. It can experiment with incentives — will a guest respond to Red Bull or Monster? — and continually finetune its loyalty campaigns so that they are always delivering value to customers.

Smart brands are aligning their guest engagement platform to bring online ordering together with loyalty, mobile apps, CRM and messaging. Many will face the temptation to go with a best-of-breed approach and find just the right point solution for each component. The challenge with that approach is that if the pieces aren’t perfectly aligned, it can create operational inefficiencies that will act as a barrier to achieving the most out of the solution. With today’s demanding guests, it is best to create the easiest path to the strongest level of guest engagement. “

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday than tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Is Artificial Intelligence Better than Operator Intelligence

 

Restaurants, Convenience Stores, and Bodegas have long relied on the imagination and innovation of their founds, owners, or savvy marketing professional.  Those days are not all gone but there are fewer and fewer food retailers that can honestly say they have their pulse of the consumer.

According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “crunching the numbers today more often than not means analyzing data, big data about customers, menu items, and sales trends simultaneously. That requires software using what is known now as artificial intelligence.  That intelligence is not artificial at all.  Today, it is insightful, informative, and filled with fact-based relevance.”

Yes, artificial intelligence (AI) may sound futuristic, but AI is here today and the technology can help convenience store retailers with their marketing campaigns. Ryan DiLello, content specialist for Paytronix Systems Inc., stated, "Using AI saves you time, effort and money," … "It ensures you do not have one-size-fits-all campaigns. It allows you to learn more about your customers and meet their needs."

DiLello continued, “Specifically, AI can help c-store retailers learn more about their customers' behavior and value; segment customers in more exacting ways; make more compelling, personalized offers; maximize channel efficiency; and, find ideal customers in the marketplace using AI-constructed profiles. AI-driven marketing operates through four stages, They are:

1.       Segmentation

2.       Predictive Analytics

3.       Campaigning

4.       Analysis

Then speaking about C-stores DiLello went on to say; “One thing AI can do is provide data regarding how likely customers are to visit a c-store, as well as open emails with provided targeted offers. The data can, for example, show which days a customer is visiting a store. If a customer visits exclusively on weekdays, AI can generate targeted offers to try to encourage consumers to visit on the weekend.”

Consider this, AI can also help launch "Missed Visit Campaigns," which recognizes individual lapses in guest behavior and identifies guests "out of their rhythm." Now according to DiLello, results from the first seven days of a Missed Visit Campaign revealed guest visits increased by 42 percent and in-store spending rose by 19 percent.

This is an example of how proactive AI can be. Geofencing, when AI notices when a customer is near a store and provides targeted offers and promotions, is another way to draw in-store traffic. "We have seen great results using geofencing," DiLello said.

Many C-store retailers have also used K-Means Clustering. Through this method, AI looks at popular pairing items and makes recommendations based on trends in the data. Further, K-Means Clustering helps develop unique and personalized guest experiences intended to keep customers returning to the store.

"AI recommends coupon offers," DiLello said. "It is a low-risk way to win back customers."

More than just marketing, AI can help c-store retailers beyond just marketing, making their implementation well worth the investment, DiLello stressed. The technology takes it one step further by helping to determine a key metric: customer lifetime value (CLV). AI calculates how long a person has been in a loyalty program, what the average visit cadence looks like, when the most recent visit was, how much customers spend per visit and how long the consumer is likely to stay active. These data sets are important to identify top customers, segment more effectively, optimize acquisition and realize lift — or a customer's lifetime journey.

So, the objectives of CLVs are to identify and reward most valuable customers, and find lower-value customers and boost their CLV.  "People often ask what a good CLV to customer acquisition cost (CAC) ratio is. We often say a three-to-one ratio is good," DiLello explained.

Retailers can lower CAC by retaining customers longer, reducing media and advertising expenses, and reducing third-party marketplace fees, he added.

Looking a Customer Ahead, DiLello expects AI to provide c-store retailers with practical uses in operations. For example, robotic servers, kiosks with facial recognition, food waste reduction management, inventory management and smart routing for delivery are ways AI can benefit c-store operators down the road.

"Inventory management is big for c-stores," he said. "AI will allow retailers to cruise through an unsteady supply chain to order items months in advance." Once again the team at Foodservice Solutions® would like to recommend you visit Paytronix Systems Inc more information on AI Or simply contact us for a referral.

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Digital Food Marketing is Required for Restaurants and C-Stores Today

 

Do you think your company can sell for to today’s consumers like you did in 2015, 2018, or 2021? Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, stated “If you are a Food Marketer today and not using handheld digital food marketing tools, you won’t be a food marketer for long.”  

IN a new report from Paytronix, digital food orders have risen to one-third of total restaurant and convenience store food orders, a large increase from just 12% pre-pandemic. While in-store sales remain down by nearly half, digital orders have remained elevated at 113% of pre-pandemic levels. We are talking customer relevance here folks.

Andrew Robbins, CEO of Paytronix, stated, “Our ‘new normal’ means the digital guest experience is no longer secondary to the physical experience, it’s front and center and marks one of the biggest changes I’ve seen in 20 years working with brands,”… “The opportunity for brands to use artificial intelligence to make experiences more personalized is huge. Learning directly from guests, presenting them with recommendations that resonate and instantly responding to their feedback with a personalized message from the store manager, is elevating brands that rely on their ability to connect with their guests.”

Report findings include:

·         A rise in takeout orders — While delivery was king before and during the height of the pandemic, more recent data indicates that takeout orders now dominate digital orders, with numbers even higher than they were pre-pandemic. Takeout jumped from approximately 35% of orders in January 2020 to a majority in March 2022, a trend that appears to be increasing.

·         Third-party delivery is here to stay — Third-party services will continue to play an important role in a customer acquisition strategy. To achieve success in today’s “new normal,” restaurants and c-stores need to embrace new technology and third-party options and explore how to successfully integrate them into existing operations.

·         Delivery customers are different — For much of 2021, the average delivery tip was 12.5% of the subtotal, more than double takeout order tips. Also, 2021 takeout orders included a tip just 37% of the time compared to nearly 73% of delivery orders. Delivery customers are also more loyal, with 31% of orders coming from repeat customers.

·         Customer feedback — Saving a guest relationship pays off. Paytronix data shows that issuing a coupon costs a restaurant $2.30 on average, but results in a $9.20 lift in that customer’s lifetime value. That four-times ROI means a timely guest recovery strategy is a must-have.

·         AI is key to gauging customer sentiment — Fifteen percent of reviews with a rating of 4.5 or better actually have a negative sentiment and could benefit from action, while three-star reviews most frequently contain negative sentiment.

Now here is the thing.  Customer relevance is important and nothing is more important than one on one brand messaging and marketing.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869

Where You Live Matters When Selling Fresh Food

 

Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat grocerant niche meals, meal components, and menus need to reflect where you live much more than previously thought. Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated, regional flavors, life styles, and brands today play a larger roll, in what type of  meals and meal components consumer will mix, match, and bundle for the perfect family dinner.  

In a new report by Paytronix Systems, Inc., on the “The Digital Divide:  Regional Variations in US Food Ordering Trends And Digital Adoption,” which examines regional variation in consumers’ views and attitudes toward restaurant ordering options, loyalty programs and subscriptions. Was important enough for our Grocerant Guru® to share it here with you.

So, Michelle Tempesta, Chief Marketing Officer, Paytronix Systems, stated, “Restaurants are built on personalized experiences and understanding guest preferences by region is a key part of building strong affinity between a guest and a restaurant brand,” said. “Local and regional managers need the ability to tailor messages, offers, pricing, and menu language nuances to appeal to their audiences.” Let’s see what else they found:

 QSRs – Consumers in the South strongly prefer Quick Service Restaurants, with 68% of consumers surveyed in this region saying they regularly order from these restaurants. Northeastern consumers are the least likely to order from QSRs, with 59% having ordered from one in the past month. This compares to the national average of 63% of consumers who order from QSRs regularly.

 Table Service – Table-service restaurants are more popular in the Pacific region than they are in the rest of the country, with 85% of consumers in this region saying they regularly order from such restaurants.

 Promotions and Sales – Consumers in the Midwest are most drawn to restaurants that offer promotions and sales. QSR customers in the Midwest find promotions and sales particularly enticing, with 34% of consumers surveyed saying they are a deciding factor in selecting a restaurant.

 Third-Party Aggregators – Consumers in the Northeast use restaurant aggregators like Grubhub and Uber Eats the most, while Midwesterners and Southerners use aggregators the least.

 Discounts – Everyone loves discounts, no matter where in the U.S. they live. Both complimentary food and customized discounts are the two greatest draws for consumers at both table-service restaurants and QSRs. 55% of table service cand 58% of QSR customers say customized discounts are a favorite perk.

Methodology: Digital Divide: Regional Variations In U.S. Food Ordering Trends And Digital Adoption, a PYMNTS and Paytronix collaboration, examines regional variations in consumers’ relationships, views and attitudes toward digital food ordering trends, loyalty programs and subscriptions. We surveyed 2,533 consumers in the U.S. between Feb. 3 and Feb. 8 about their experiences. Respondents’ average age was 48, 54% were female and 36% earned more than Conclusion $100,000 annually.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Does you messaging look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

New Technology Help C-Stores Compete with Restaurants

 

Retail foodservice technology continues to evolve in every sector of retail foodservice.  Convenience Stores today are selling more and more fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat grocerant niche meal and meal components blurring the lines between restaurants, grocery stores, and C-store even more.

According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® Digital ordering and delivery has grown 300% faster than dine-in traffic since 2014

  

1.       Recent Grocerant ScoreCards found 82.3% of consumers don’t know what’s for dinner at Noon, and 61.1 don’t know what’ s for dinner at 4PM %.

2.       Roughly 66% of consumers purchase prepared food items from a retail location at least three times a month.

3.       83.1% all dinners have at least 1 grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal component and 68.4% have two meal components.

4.       When asked if they wanted to cook dinner from scratch or assemble dinner from fresh meal components 90.4 % of Gen Z chose assemble from Fresh Prepared Meal Components and Millennials 82.7% chose meal components.

5.       Seventy-three percent of retail prepared food purchases are taken to go

6.       Prepared food purchases are frequently a planned purchase among 59% of shoppers, while 41% of shoppers said they buy prepared foods on impulse. Dinner has the highest amount of prepared food buys with 79% of respondents making purchases for that meal, while lunch comes in at 77% and breakfast at 62%.

7.       55% of consumers would like to try autonomous EV delivery

Today, more and more delivery aggregators and online-only platforms are moving quickly into the convenience store market, recently, Paytronix Systems announced that Paytronix Handoff is ready for c-store retailers to manage digital ordering information across all channels.

Get this, Handoff is designed to make it easy for retailers and restaurants to publish a menu of items out to the various delivery aggregators and then manage inbound orders through a single tablet or point of sale (POS) system. Burring the line for customers as everyone can easily be on one platform great for the consumers, challenging for some food retailers.

So, Handoff provides c-stores with complete control over how items are viewed, described and priced, regardless of through which channel those items appear, including on DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates and GrubHub. This helps c-stores add incremental sales to each location while streamlining operations, ensuring order integrity and increasing customer satisfaction.

According to data from Edison Trends, convenience store online spending grew by 346% in 2020, outpacing growth in both grocery and restaurant categories. The same report notes that DoorDash is a big player in the market.

Paytronix Handoff works with the most popular POS systems and leading third-party digital delivery platforms to:

·         Eliminate the need to continually check multiple tablets for information;

·         Digitally connect third-party aggregators with internal POS systems and store operations;

·         Provide a single point of entry for all online orders as they come in; and

·         Enable store-level employees to more easily manage stock digitally, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.

Paytronix CEO Andrew Robbins, stated, “The c-store market is changing rapidly with third-party delivery platforms and online-only companies focusing on 15-minute delivery of center-store items,” ... “Traditional c-stores, with great locations on major transportation routes, have an opportunity to truly own this new order-ahead and delivery ecosystem, but they need the right systems in place to make it happen. Paytronix Handoff, and the full Order & Delivery offering, gives c-stores what they need to grab incremental sales and successfully compete against delivery-only brands.”

Paytronix enables rapid processing of digital orders. It has an easy-to-use ordering interface, digital ordering management tools, more than a dozen POS integrations and great loyalty integration. In addition, Paytronix has established partnerships with premier third-party aggregators.

This is no one trick pony, through one-to-one engagement with more than 285 million guests via Order & Delivery, Loyalty, CRM and Stored Value, Paytronix delivers artificial intelligence features that motivate increased visits and spending throughout the customer journey.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? It’s just might be time to consider Paytronix.  Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.