Food Retailers Looking A Customer Ahead with Voice AI Integration

 

Technology matters and if you are ‘Looking A Customer Ahead’ you should be looking at Voice AI Integration into you retail foodservice operation, according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food continues to drive customer migration in all sectors of food retail. As the popularity of diverse pickup preferences rises, quick-service restaurant employees must simultaneously manage drive-thru’s, mobile orders, curbside pickup, and dine-in service. Today, your employees are expected to manage these points and maintain consistent and welcoming service across all touchpoints, presenting a considerable challenge.

If you want to continue to deliver the outstanding service that customers expect, it is important for operators to invest in technology that bridges gaps among touchpoints. Restaurants gain increased efficiency when staff are more connected, leading to faster, more accurate service, and an overall better customer experience.

Scott Mullica, senior director of product management and innovation for HME Hospitality & Specialty Communications, stated, “Communication platforms must provide technology that seamlessly integrates with voice AI.

Mullica continued, “Choosing a communication platform with voice AI integration helps future-proof a restaurant, setting it up for success whenever the time comes to upgrade,” ... “Other communication solutions on the market need additional audio boxes or conversions to integrate with your voice AI provider, but NEXEO | HDX provides for a seamless integration for both on premise and cloud-based solutions.” Plus, advanced telemetry continuously monitors and evaluates the system interconnection to ensure it is always operating at peak performance.

Effective restaurant communication plays a pivotal role in ensuring customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, and NEXEO | HDX takes it to the next level. “Unlike other platforms on the market, our solution enables seamless communication across critical areas of your entire operation,” says Mullica. “Even if you’re not quite yet on the market for AI-driven ordering, NEXEO | HDX provides the ability to communicate one-to-one with custom defined groups and individuals, get critical alerts from the timer, and more,” Mullica says.

NEXEO | HDX is uniquely designed to improve efficiency at every customer touchpoint, offering a total solution for inside and outside the restaurant. Group communication, for example, allows employees to have a separate conversation between the kitchen team and the front counter without disturbing drive-thru communication. “Independent group conversations are custom defined to your restaurant needs, reduce the noise clutter, and improve team collaboration,” says Mullica. Additionally, one-to-group calls allow employees to be fully engaged in their roles while remaining connected to other areas of the restaurant through their own private channel, which has demonstrated to be invaluable to drive-thru line-busting teams.

One-to-one communication is well-suited for coaching new employees. Managers can privately speak with trainees to offer additional guidance and celebrate progress. “Discreet coaching improves real-time performance and customer satisfaction while maintaining higher staff morale,” says Mullica. The platform also sends alerts and reminders only to particular team members or groups, ensuring that critical information is delivered to the right person every time while eliminating interruptions to others.

Technology in the restaurant industry is undergoing rapid evolution to meet consumer demands for fast and efficient service across multiple order and pickup points. “Restaurant operations have evolved and so should the solutions that support them,” says Mullica. “The NEXEO | HDX platform continuously evolves to help operators stay on top of technology change and future-proof their entire store base. As their business and technology needs grow, NEXEO | HDX grows with them delivering advanced technology and functionality to support their ever-changing needs.” –Olivia Schuster

To learn more about the NEXEO | HDX platform, check out hme.com/nexeo.

Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant   Call: 253-759-7869 or Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us  

Retail Food Consumers Change are You Keeping Up with Gen Z

 

Consumers are dynamic not static. In case you did not know,  Gen Z consumers are the most ethnically diverse generation and they’re on track to be the most educated in U.S. history, but they aren’t terribly trusting—they can sense insincerity a mile away.  

Now, according to the Pew Research Center, Generation Z consists of people born between 1997 and 2012. The oldest of this generation are reaching 25 years of age, with many now out of college, getting married, and starting families.  They are the primary target market for retail food companies for the next 7 years at minimum. 

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes the more you know about them the better.  Recently Datassential shared some valuable information in their Midyear Trends Report.  The Foodservice Solutions® team found it valuable and think you will as well.  Below is a recap as published in trade magazines.

“In addition to reporting on unusual new products – such as a beer brewed with recycled hot dog water (!) and augmented reality contact lenses –Datassential shared several notable foodservice and retail movements in its recent Midyear Trends Report. According to the data firm’s information and analysis, consumers’ behavior in 2022 reflects their concern about prices, their interest in unique items and their embrace of technology in learning about and buying goods and services.

In general, the marketplace is in somewhat of a state of flux. “There was an idea that everyone would rush back to restaurants, but at the same time, you see higher prices and a possible looming recession, so I think everyone is just confused about where consumers will go in the future,” observed Mike Kostyo, Datassential’s trendologist and senior managing editor on the market intelligence team. 

According to Kostyo, the latest insights reveal that the younger age demographic of Gen Z is displaying its unique purchasing power at the halfway point of this year. “Gen Z is more willing to do everything in the future,” he noted.

To that end, Gen Z is more willing than other age groups to visit quick service restaurants and even fine dining restaurants. Compared to Millennial, Gen X and Boomer consumers, Gen Z customers are also more likely to order third-party delivery; 26% of them plan to buy more items from such delivery services, versus 14% of Millennials, 8% of Gen Xers and 4% of Boomers.

When it comes to retail, consumers are seeking to save money at a time of spiking inflation. Datassential found that 21% of consumers plan to visit large discount stores in the future. Breaking it down by age, 40% of Gen Z agree with that sentiment, compared to 22% of Millennials, 18% of Gen Xers and 12% of Boomers. The majority – 66% of all respondents – said they will visit discount stores the same amount in the near future, while less than 10% across all age groups report that they will visit less often.

There are other opportunities with consumers of all ages to leverage technologies across the food and beverage industry, the report shows. “One of the things we found was that 70% of consumers who have used a QR code like the experience. People have pretty good experiences with QR codes and they probably are not going away anytime soon. So, what do we do with them and how do we improve them even more?” asked Kostyo.

Datassential’s Midyear Trends Report also spotlighted menu winners. Items to on the consumable hot list include “Ranch Water,” ready-to-drink cocktails made with tequila, lime and Topo Chico; High Noon RTD seltzer; the Mexican dish of birria; and the purple sweet potato known as ube, among others. In addition, researchers identified several trend movers across foodservice and retail sectors, including dessert hummus and egg bites.”

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information. 

Building a Larger Share of Stomach

Insights Help