4 Restaurant Technology Trends to Shape 2022 and Beyond

It’s no secret that everyone wants to be ahead of the curve in 2022. After all, this new decade brought with it some unique challenges, especially in regard to restaurants. It’s more important than ever for casual dining, fast casual, or quick service restaurants to stand out to consumers this year and beyond. Operational challenges like ever-changing consumer expectations, a lack of qualified or motivated employees, and an increased focus on health and hygiene (just to name a few) have made it more difficult than ever to efficiently and effectively run a restaurant. Bridge these frustrating gaps in operations while capitalizing on technology trends that consumers care about and give your restaurant a fresh new perspective. Here are our top 4 picks for new and exciting restaurant technology trends and innovations that we think you should know about and consider for your business this year:

Food Lockers

This concept has been around since the early 20th century in the U.S., but a restaurant tech trend has steadily been on the rise due to the popularity of Curbside Pickup: places for convenient food pick-up without the need to wait in lines or interact with an employee. Food lockers, especially in medium- to larger-sized cities, have made it simple for professionals on the go or moms running to yoga class to simply get a meal, snack, or beverage without having to wait in a line or sit through a drive-thru. This curbside option helps alleviate stress on drive-thru and front-of-house operations by placing diners in a different “queue” for their orders.

By offering food lockers as an alternative to the drive-thru or even dining room, the benefits for consumers are numerous. No waiting in a long line for someone to confirm their order, and the food tastes even better because of temperature control before pickup. With a more convenient curbside experience comes a higher degree of customer loyalty. Many places make it simple: with just an app or a code on the locker, the customer can simply order as well as pay ahead online and then gather their food. 

Do you operate a dining hall? This concept has been achieving a high level of popularity in recent years, and food lockers offer a unique solution to the problem of consumers not being sure what restaurant they ordered from. Curbside pickup in the lockers could be offered in a centralized place with clear labeling and messaging so the pickup process can be as simple as possible.

Self-Service Kiosks

Self-service kiosks are devices that allow customers to place their order on a tablet or screen with integrated payment capabilities – all without clogging up the register lines. If you’re looking to modernize your restaurant, streamline order-taking processes, and maximize order throughput, then this solution may be the answer you’re looking for. And it’s one that’s gaining popularity year-over-year – it’s estimated that self-service kiosks will continue to grow exponentially due to their convenience for consumers and restaurants alike.

Digital Menu Boards

When you go digital, your menu becomes more than a static list of choices. It becomes a flexible and dynamic display designed to inform and increase check averages, among other valuable benefits.

Digital menu boards make menu creation or updates a breeze. The content management system can push updates across multiple sites with a few quick clicks. It also makes complying with menu labeling laws quick and easy, enabling you to display pertinent nutritional information. They can be used to upsell and cross-promote new menu items or specials more effectively, and going digital means you no longer have to worry about printing and shipping costs.

Streamlining your processes is important and this technology trend helps you achieve that. With digital menu boards, there are less discrepancies over ordered items and price, more opportunities to advertise and promote specials, and streamlined ordering in dining rooms and drive-thrus.

POS Systems

As we move further into the digital age, POS systems are a far cry from the old cash registers. All-in-one  and mobile POS systems are trending for a reason: they offer flexibility like no other option. When you utilize this restaurant technology trend, you’re giving the operators the freedom they need to make your business run more efficiently than ever. With the ability to process orders and accept payments anywhere, new and improved POS technology can fill in the gaps created by staffing shortages and create more POS touchpoints in your footprint.

Having flexibility is important, and this system allows for flexibility in staffing, location, and payment. For example, if you have one staff member outside taking orders in the drive-thru, when the drive-thru is empty, they can move inside to help in whatever way is needed. If you have goals of taking your business off-premises like in a food truck, pop-up, or another flexible location, a mobile POS system is flexible enough to move with you. It even offers the option to take orders tableside in your dining room. The latest POS systems are also able to to accept contactless payment such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. 

Final Thoughts

By capitalizing on restaurant technology trends like food lockers, self-service kiosks, digital menu boards, and POS systems, you can bridge operational gaps, increase average revenue and improve customer experiences. Ready to learn out more about one or more of these exciting trends in restaurant technology? Contact us today for a free consultation.