TECHNOLOGY M
elbourne’s lockdown lasted 263 days. More than two years into this pandemic, Australians simply want to dine out. Thanks to strict check-in requirements
to enter public venues, restaurants, cafes and bars during the pandemic, diners have become accustomed to using QR codes. Australians quickly learned the QR code was their key to a dining experience. With lockdowns over, scanning a QR code on your phone is fast becoming the norm to place your orders and pay for your meals in restaurants and pubs in Australia. Mr Yum, a Melbourne-founded mobile ordering company, is leading the growth in QR code innovation. The company raised over AU$100m of funding in November 2021. Starting out in 2018, it has grown from 12 to more than 130 employees in the past 18 months, with teams in Australia, the UK, the US, and the Philippines. Initially, Mr Yum was created to bring menus to life. By scanning a QR code, you
could view photos of all the dishes in the menu on your phone. Kim Teo, CEO and co- founder of Mr Yum, says: “The plan pretty early was to be able to take orders and take payment. For us, the easiest way to enter the market was to make menus more dynamic.” Orders and payments followed on from
that. “If you’ve got the menu in your hand, the next step is to place an order,” Teo says, adding that, for today’s consumer, it’s no great leap. “People are so used to buying stuff online. It’s not really a huge difference, like you’re at home ordering Uber Eats or shopping online for clothes or shoes. So, sitting in the bar and doing it on your phone isn’t really a huge behavior change.” Mr Yum launched its ordering and payments tools in a first location in 2019, six months before the pandemic began. Teo recalls: “The hardest thing at the time was just the knowledge around QR codes.” It wasn’t a matter of customers not wanting to use the QR code, but that they thought they needed to download a special app first.
“People didn’t understand that you didn’t need a QR app. They didn’t know how to use their phone camera to scan a QR code.”
A win-win solution That all changed when Australia brought in mandatory check-ins during the pandemic, and suddenly everyone had to use QR codes. “The knowledge of how to use QR codes has been the biggest positive impact that Covid has had on our category,” Teo says. When restaurants and bars reopened after the lockdowns, the industry adopted QR technology not so much to change customer behavior, but as an operational necessity. “I think the real reason that restaurants implemented it is because they’ve been really struggling with labor shortages,” says Teo. “You just can’t get the quantity or the level of staffing that you need.” As Australians started to emerge from
their homes, there was some comfort in serving themselves through an app. Using a mobile ordering and payment system lessened physical contact between customers and staff. It seemed like a win- win solution. “The reality was that they needed the system to be able to continue to operate – it was a bit like two birds with
Above: Kim Teo, CEO and co-founder of mobile ordering platform Mr Yum (right)
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