The Restaurant Business Model has Evolved

 

Does your restaurants business model look more like 2005, 2015, or 2022? Once again shifting demographics, work form home, technology, and yes, the COVID, have combined to create and undercurrent of change that no one would have predicted five years ago. 

Maybe this was one, yes, our very own Grocerant Guru® who pontificated on the convergence of shifting demographics, work from home, technology and grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food delivery. However, he never in his wildest dreams considered a deadly pandemic.

What was forecast was how both Millennials and Gen Z were digital natives, in search for food discover and that delivery would more to the forefront. When he started pontificating it was 1996. Back in the day our Grocerant Guru® consulted for and was working with companies like cyberslice, cybermeals, Food.com and Webvan.  His journey has been non-stop since as most of you know.

In new research according to the 2021 edition of the "Restaurant Readiness Index," a collaboration between Paytronix Systems Inc. and PYMNTS shows just how far the restaurant industry has moved.

The found that “67 percent of average restaurant sales generated by orders placed digitally or by phone for off-premises dining.”

That means that “remote food orders now generate most of the average restaurant's revenue, the extent to which restaurants rely on remote vs. on-site sales varies based on the type of restaurant in question. Sit-down restaurants generate more in-person sales than quick-service restaurants (QSR) at 40 percent vs. 25 percent, respectively. This underscores how important digital food sales have become since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report found.”  We note here that 68+% of all fast-food orders are now sold through the drive thru.   

According to the study findings, online orders account for at least 40 percent more revenue than phone orders for the average restaurant and orders placed by phone call generate just 28 percent of total restaurant sales. Aggregators alone generate 16 percent of the average restaurant's revenue, but mobile order-ahead is close behind, totaling 14 percent of the average restaurant's revenue.

Other findings include: 

·         Remote food orders are now restaurants' primary source of revenue, with the average QSR generating as much as 75 percent of sales from orders made online or over the phone. Online orders account for 40 percent more revenue than phone orders to the average restaurant, and aggregators drive more revenue than any other digital ordering channel.

·         Remote vs. on-site sales varies with the type of restaurant. QSRs generate more off-premises sales than sit-down restaurants. Food orders placed and eaten on-site generate 25 percent of the average QSR's total sales but 40 percent of the average sit-down restaurant's total sales.

·         Remote orders vary by channel. The average restaurant now generates 16 percent of its total sales via aggregator, 14 percent of its sales via mobile order-ahead, and 10 percent of its sales via desktop website. 

The full report is available for download here.   We ask once again what are you selling, to whom, and how? Are you ready to look a customer ahead? The Grocerant Guru® has been leading the industry insights for Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food for 26 years?  Maybe its time to talk.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® 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: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter