In association with


saved us double that” Cameron Buckley


“We’re paying £130 a month, but it has


of the essence,” says Daniel Spinath, founder and managing director of crêpe franchise chain Crêpeaffaire. “We want to get to them with a tablet as opposed to a legacy system that sits static on the counter.” Self-service is also in the ascendancy, accord- ing to Omnico chief executive Mel Taylor. “Until very recently the innovation in point- of-sale technology was all about relationships between businesses, but now we are mov- ing to focusing on direct engagement with customers, enabling them to interact directly with the brand through a simple, attractive app or kiosk [a terminal that provides public inter- net access],” he explains. “Self-service is what caterers must embrace – handing back con- trol to the customer through technology that ensures their experience is easier than ever.”


KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER THROUGH MOBILE Mobile ordering and payment apps, in par- ticular, have become incredibly popular with customers over the past year, leading to impressive growth in sales for businesses that have integrated them with their Epos systems. In some cases, order and pay apps are accounting for a double-digit percentage of sales within a few months. Even in the small, independent sector, Green has seen mobile trickling – albeit not hammering – through. Overall, according to research carried out by


Kingsbridge rings up the savings


Since the Kingsbridge Inn in Swansea switched to a Newbridge system 12 months ago, it has saved more than double its investment. The new system has also paid dividends in peace of mind. The pub’s owner Cameron


Buckley had been paying £400 a year for a different system, but had to wait two to three days to hear back from the provider if something went wrong, which sometimes left the team relying on pen and paper. “It was adding ridiculous


amounts of time onto things that should have been simple, like printing a bill,” he recalls. “With Newbridge, I call them and within five minutes everything is sorted.” Buckley has also been


impressed with the training Newbridge gave him


www.thecaterer.com


on the back-end of the system, which displays key information about business performance – from what’s selling to which times of day are busiest and staff rotas – all on one screen. “I couldn’t be without it now,” he grins. “It’s so easy to use and helpful to the business.”


For example, he has


recently changed employees’ start times and removed two of the items from the menu after looking at last quarter’s data. “It’s saving us money at the end of the day,” Buckley says. “We’re paying £130 a month, but it has saved us double that.”


Zonal and CGA, pre-order is now mainstream, with 40% of 25- to 34-year-olds preferring to order via smartphone and have items brought to their table. Crucially for operators, 67% of the age group say they would spend more if they could order from their mobile device. Recent research by Omnico has shown that F&B businesses are responding accordingly. For example, 48% see that allowing customers to pay via a mobile app or iPad improves effi- ciency. Its research also found that operators view engagement through a mobile app as the key method of boosting revenues by 10%-20%. Indeed, the benefits of embracing mobile extend far beyond reducing queue times. Shifting to a mobile-first approach can reduce waste by giving operators more accurate pre- dictions of demand (because customers start using apps for advance ordering), and enhance loyalty as the customer data gathered by these technologies can allow businesses to engage more effectively with their clientele and offer personalised promotions and rewards. Zonal marketing director Clive Consterdine says: “If a customer has downloaded the app and they order and pay through it, you know who they are and can therefore ask them ques- tions about their experience and send some- thing to them as an offer or a thank you. If somebody walks into your outlet and isn’t a member of a loyalty scheme or doesn’t book a table, you don’t have any method of collect- ing data about them.


“When big groups are looking to make a technology change now, they almost assume that the Epos system does what it says on the tin. They’re more interested in how to link it all together to improve customer engagement.”


Technology Prospectus 2018 | 29


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