Operations
What the restaurant industry can learn from Amazon
James Shea, director of content strategy at Zuppler, explains why restaurant and foodservice operators should take a long hard look at Amazon's model and how it has perfected a user experience around a frictionless transaction.
August 18, 2021 by James Shea
The restaurant industry can learn a lot from Amazon. The e-commerce platform has been processing online orders since 1994, over a decade before online platforms GrubHub and Seamless were founded. Since that time, Amazon has gone from a small online bookseller to the most valuable retailer in the world.
Amazon has created a user experience around a frictionless transaction. The company strives to move the customer along the sales journey and reduce the chance of a customer not completing the transaction, something the restaurant industry must keep in mind. According to one survey, 55% of food and drinker orders are never completed after an item is added to a cart. That can hurt a restaurant's bottom line.
Keep customers at the center
When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, he always placed customers at the center of any decision. He knew if customers had positive experiences, they would continue to order from Amazon.
Bezos always kept an open line of communication with customers. He let customers email feedback to his personal email address and spent time looking through the comments. When Bezos identified a problem based on a customer's complaint, he wanted it fixed quickly. He forwarded an email with the complaint and only stated "?" That meant an employee had to quickly find an answer to the problem.
Bezos believed in watching the data and following the numbers, but he also understood that people are the direct recipients of the product. He wanted to make sure customers were always happy with the experience.
Restaurants must put customer experience at the center when building an online platform. A restaurant needs to make decisions based on what is best for the customer.
Personalized recommendations
One of Amazon's greatest features is recommendations. Amazon uses a customer's order and search history and makes recommendations. It also pair products, informing a customer that when someone bought a certain item, the person also bought a different item. The goal is to not only help the customer shop but entice the person into adding more items to the shopping cart.
This technique is rarely used in an online order experience for restaurants but often happens in person. A person might order a steak and the waiter suggests a particular type of wine. With online shopping, restaurants should make suggestions to upsell an order just like Amazon has been doing for years.
Items are easy to search
The user experience at Amazon is built around search. Amazon's user interface is not burdened with frivolous amounts of information. Amazon wants to help the customer easily find items and purchase them. The items are organized by various categories, but people can also use a search feature to find specific items.
The same is true for a restaurant. The purpose of a restaurant's website is to sell food. That means making it easier to find and purchase items. Online menus must be searchable and menu item categorized in a way that is easy to understand.
Membership program
In 2005, Amazon launched Amazon Prime. For $79 a year, members received free two-day shipping on orders. Over the years, the benefits of Amazon Prime have grown. Members now get access to Amazon's streaming service and Amazon music but the price has only increased slightly.
Loyalty programs are a big part of the restaurant industry, but membership has not been historically. A membership fee entices and rewards a restaurant's most loyal customers. A customer gains benefits when becoming a members and is transformed into a devoted customer.
Frictionless ordering
Amazon makes ordering simple and frictionless. The system saves a person's credit card and mailing address. A customer clicks the item, adds it to the cart and within a couple clicks the orders in processed. A repeat customer does not have to enter a credit card and contact information.
Restaurants can make the checkout process easier. Many restaurants do not save customer credit cards and contact information, and the customer must reenter the information. This creates more friction and increases the chance that the customer will abandon the order.
Easy return policy
Amazon wants to make sure every customer is happy with their order. If there are problems, the company makes returning an item effortless. Amazon works with Kohl's and other retailers, so customers do not have to pay the shipping costs. Amazon does not ask questions about the return. It finds a way to satisfy the customer.
At a restaurant, takeout and delivery orders are wrong more often than in-person orders. A restaurant must work extremely hard to correct the problem and make the customer happy. The restaurant cannot make excuses about the problem but must work hard to fix the problem, just like Amazon.
James Shea is director of content strategy at Zuppler
About James Shea
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