Operations
Consumers a bit more impatient at drive-thrus, carryout
December 20, 2021
Consumers are becoming more impatient when waiting for their food at drive-thrus and pick-up windows thanks in part to technology in restaurants, according to a study from Oracle Food and Beverage.
Of 7,500 worldwide consumers surveyed, 64% don't want to wait more than five minutes to order at the counter or drive-thru window, while 71% of in-house diners are upset if they had to wait more than 10 minutes. More than half (55%) are fed up after five minutes of waiting for food in a drive-thru, and 54% are annoyed waiting more than 10 minutes for food while dining at a restaurant, according to a press release on the findings.
While consumers mostly dig digital dining options, they lament the impact it is having on in-person dining. Nearly half (47%) feel like all the delivery and take-out orders result in longer waits when they order in-person and 29% said the atmosphere of dining-in is hurt by delivery drivers picking up food. But despite these concerns, 46% will eat out daily to several times a week in coming months and showed a growing loyalty to their favorite brands.
"Online and mobile ordering was a lifeline to restaurants shut-down in the pandemic and continues to provide steady revenue," Simon de Montfort Walker, senior vice president and general manager at Oracle Food and Beverage, said in the release. "As already short-staffed restaurants reopen, they are grappling with how to manage both in-person diners and deliveries, while meeting growing expectations on speed and service. Technology that helps kitchens manage and time orders from multiple channels will be key to keeping pace and ensuring diners stay happy and loyal."
In addition, 58% enjoy curbside pickup and are more apt to choose establishments offering it, with 43% said it makes them more loyal to the eatery. 54% said they would spend more because of this service option, with that number jumping to 80% for Millennials.
Fifty-five percent want to received notifications about personalized offers from restaurants based on their current location, with 45% wanting to be prompted with personalized order suggestions based on their purchase history while 46% would love to manage dietary preferences with their favorite establishments. Still, 56% would love visibility and control over who has access to the personal data they share with restaurants and delivery drivers.
Consumers are impressed with a brand's sustainability, environmental and corporate governance initiatives, and healthy meal options. Sixty-one percent of Millennials rate efforts to lower food waste (such as donations to food banks) as vital and influential to who they spend money with, and 45% rate clear labelling about source of food and ingredients as vital, with a slightly higher percentage of men versus women (48% and 42%, respectively) and 58% of consumers rate healthy options on menu as important, with families rating this the highest at 74%, followed by Millennials at 71%.
While mobile ordering remains popular so, too, does customer service as 65% prefer to order directly from a server when dining in, while 18% would like to order from their mobile device. When ordering take out, 33% would like to order directly from the restaurant on their mobile device, 18% from a third-party like UberEats from their mobile device, and 25% directly from a server.
In addition, 38% prefer to order directly from a server when ordering drive-thru, while 38% prefer to order from their mobile device and 52% of Millennials prefer to order from a server in-person, but that number drops sharply to drive-thrus, with only 17% wanting to deal with a staff member and just 11% when ordering take-out.
Finally, more than half (60%) like to pay with a credit card and 25% prefer to utilize contactless payment methods such as Apple or Google Pay. Just 7% are embracing alternative payments such as cryptocurrency.
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Oracle
Oracle helps ambitious food and beverage providers transact in new ways, prioritize guests, and deliver great experiences. With Simphony Cloud, an open and extensible digital transaction platform, NetSuite for business management, and CrowdTwist for loyalty, thousands of operators worldwide automate operations and elevate personalized guest experiences with Oracle.
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