In a post-pandemic world, the demand for food delivery is at an all time high. With over 4 million Australians now using food delivery services regularly, more restaurants are partnering with third party delivery providers than ever before.
However, there can be some challenges with partnering with third party delivery services, such as manually entering orders into your POS and managing your menu.
This article will show you how you can streamline your delivery order process through delivery partner integration with your POS system.
The Market Trend You Don’t Want To Miss
Convenience That Customers Love
Although lockdowns during the pandemic may have sparked the quick rise in the demand for food delivery, customers are continuing to opt for delivery even outside of lockdown.
Food delivery services provide a range of benefits to customers, including:
- An enjoyable ordering experience.
- Real-time order tracking.
- Contactless delivery.
- Online payments.
- Ability to share reviews and ratings.
- Convenience.
These benefits are why customers are still choosing to enjoy delivery at higher rates than ever before.
Businesses Don’t Miss Out
While the benefits to the customer are clear, providing the option for delivery also has a multitude of benefits to your business.
Statistics You Should Know About Food Delivery
By working with third party delivery partners, your business will be able to reach a whole new group of customers who value convenience above all else – Millennials and Generation Z.
Research by Roy Morgan found that:
- In 2020, over 5.5 million Australians (26.5%) used food delivery services.
- Majority of those who use food delivery services are Millennials and Generation Z.
- This was a 19% increase from 2019 and a 16.3% increase from 2018.
These statistics highlight that the demand for food delivery has gained momentum in recent years and is becoming increasingly popular among Millennials and Generation Z – something your business should take advantage of in order to stay competitive.
Partnering with a delivery service also means you will have access to demographic data so you can improve your marketing and potentially expand your delivery reach.
Reach New Customers and Promote Your Business
Partnering with a delivery service is a great way to promote your business. When your business appears on a third party delivery partner’s app, customers who may have never heard of you before will be able to browse your menu.
Your business will no longer be limited to the number of seats in your restaurant; it will be opened up to a whole new range of customers in their own homes. 92% of food delivery orders come from new customers, so online visibility and reaching new customers is extremely important to generate more sales, and therefore more revenue.
Gain More Visibility Through Offering Promotions
Running limited time promotions is also an effective way to encourage customers to order from your restaurant over another. When you offer a promotion, your restaurant will appear under the ‘Latest Deals’ section of the app, giving it higher visibility amongst potential customers. If the customer enjoys their delivery experience with your restaurant, it can also encourage them to dine-in or at the very least order from you again.
How Integration With A Third Party Can Streamline Your Services
Reduced Mistakes Caused By Human Error
Using multiple devices can be messy, confusing and mistakes can be made when manually entering orders from a third-party device into the POS. Order numbers can be mistyped and variants can be forgotten; it’s only fair when you are trying to juggle multiple people, devices and orders at once.
Delivery partner integration with your restaurant POS will automatically take a ball out of your hands. By skipping the tedious manual order entry and syncing all the orders to your POS on its own, an integrated delivery partner system completely removes the middle man and provides a faster and more accurate transferral.
Automated Workflow
Rather than having to accept and enter your delivery orders into your POS manually, an integrated delivery system will send your delivery orders straight to your POS and your Kitchen Display Screen. This will create a streamlined and efficient process from start to finish and ensure the customer receives their order in a timely manner.
Similarly, manually updating all your menus every time there is a change can be time consuming and inefficient. With Delivery Partner Integration, every time an item sells out or is updated on one POS, you can update it on all your devices and platforms at the same time, including your delivery and online ordering system. You and your staff won’t waste valuable time manually updating all of your menus and customers won’t be disappointed if the menu is inaccurate.
Clearer Communication
An integrated delivery system will also prevent confusion and allow for clearer communication amongst staff. Order and delivery driver details will be visible and easier for staff to access, so any confusion can quickly be cleared up. Staff will be able to use their time more effectively and redirect their focus to more important tasks such as serving customers. Making your business’ processes more efficient will encourage your staff to be more productive.
Improved Customer Service
With an integrated delivery system, your staff will be able to spend less time focusing on an iPad and more time focusing on the customers in front of them and other more valuable tasks. Delivery partner integration will allow your business to:
- Accept and begin preparing orders faster.
- Deliver more orders in less time.
- Reduce order backlogs and confusion.
- Spend more time with customers in-store.
Having an integrated delivery system will ensure that both your online and in-store customers are fed and happy.
Try It Out For Yourself!
If you are interested in integrating delivery platforms with your POS, look no further than Abacus. Submit your interest here or email us at sales@abacus.co and our product specialists will reach out to you to discuss how Abacus can help your business.