How Cashless Ordering Can Speed Up and Enhance Customer Experience

Online and mobile ordering has transformed F&B services. Be it concession stands, restaurants, food trucks, ghost kitchens, on-property F&B outlets and more, operators are now aware that offering a cashless ordering option is an expectation, especially in light of COVID-19.

But it also exposed some common problems present since the very beginning: relatively long wait time, errors in communications of orders, and dependency on having available staff to serve each customer. In this blog, we break down how cashless ordering can improve and speed up the customer experience at any type of F&B outlet.

Quick & Easy Ordering

Scan, order and pay.

Not only is that the faster way to place an order, but it’s becoming the mainstream way to place orders. Previously customers have to wait for a server, or a cashier, to manually take their orders and conduct the payment via either cash or card. Now customers can pull up the menu on their phone and pay for their order directly from there, without having to get someone to wait on them. They can even pre-order before arriving at a location so the kitchen can prepare beforehand — or better yet, more efficiently manage their inventory level. This directly shortens the time from when a guest decides what they want to eat to when the kitchen gets the order, thus reducing the time guests have to wait before receiving their orders. FanFood partners have seen up to 75% reduction in fulfillment time since using the FanFood platform.

Order Anytime, Anywhere

If customers want to order additional items, what would they do? Previously, they’d either have to wait down a server — if they’re in a restaurant setting, or go back to wait in lines in front of a concession stand or food truck. Before COVID-19, half of the fans would opt out of purchasing concessions at a stadium concession stand due to long lines. That equates to billions of dollars in revenue in the sports industry every year. With online and mobile ordering like FanFood, it’s different. In fact, over 15% of FanFood users would place a second order within the same day or event, just because of how easy it is to order on their phone whenever and wherever they want. In addition, average order sizes on FanFood are 25% larger than traditional orders. That’s because customers are not under the pressure to quickly place an order so as to not waste other people’s time. They can order at their own pace on their phone, which often leads to more items being added to the cart.

Fast Payment Transaction

Paying with cash or credit card has always been a hassle. Imagine being at a concession stand, with 10 people waiting behind you, and you fumbling for either change, or inserting your card three times only to see “Chip Malfunction” on the display screen. Or imagine being at a restaurant, where you always have to wait for a server to take your card, return the card, calculate tip amount, sign on a receipt, before you can walk out. Inconceivable that we’ve lived with that for so long! With cashless payment on the phone, customers can use their stored credit card information and select several tip options (or customize their own tips) and pay all within a few seconds. They can also use Google Pay or Apple Pay for an ever quicker transaction.

Data-Driven Customer Service

With a digital ordering and order management platform like FanFood, you can view integrated data to understand customer purchase behaviors and tailor your services better for them. For example: What are your top-sellers? What are some items that are frequently bought together? What’s the percentage of your repeat users? Which menu tab is viewed most frequently? With FanFood’s reporting dashboard, you can find answers to all those questions and more. With those insights, you can better design your menus, send push notifications to draw attention to your best sellers, up-sell with combos and snacks, and employ many other tactics to drive up your sales.

In conclusion, online and mobile ordering, as well as cashless payment technologies, are reshaping how customers make purchases and how operators conduct businesses. Not only do they help create a safer environment, but improve the overall customers experience, speed up services, and increase long-term revenue for businesses.

You can learn more about how FanFood can help your F&B services here.