Consumers hungry for mobile ordering

This is translating into consumer habits with online shopping showing 18% annual growth. The dining out sector is also sharing similar success with 7% growth year on year. And our recent research with CGA Peach, has revealed a growing appetite from consumers to use mobile technology as part of their leisure experience.

Stuart McLean explained “Consumers regularly use mobile technology for online shopping and our research indicates there is significant interest to use mobile ordering and payment when going out for a drink or something to eat.”

With a third of consumers (34%) interested in using their mobile devices to speed up ordering and payment for food and drink, rising to more than half (54%) of 18 to 24-year-olds, Zonal’s mobile ordering system can provide a solution.

A ‘virtual waiter’, iOrder allows customers to avoid the rush at the bar and browse, order and securely pay for food and drink from the comfort of their table. It also allows operators to keep control of the system in-house, from branding to data capture and cost controls.
iOrder is fully integrated, and therefore doesn’t require third party hardware, enabling orders to be directly passed to the till. Without integration, orders can easily be missed, defeating the objective of reducing waiting times and improving customer service.

Operating an integrated mobile order app, such as iOrder, also means no re-keying is required, saving valuable time. Also, operators are reassured that the correct price and any promotions are always applied as the data is fed from the EPoS system. The integrated nature of iOrder also means that out of stock items won’t appear on the app, saving time and reducing customer frustration.

However, only 6% of consumers currently use online payment methods as, according to the research, they don’t trust non branded solutions. Indeed, consumers are far more likely to engage with an own-brand ordering device than that of a third party.

Companies are also more likely to promote the service and engage with the process if they have outright ownership and a flat fee structure, which iOrder offers.

Stuart added: “We need to make life for consumers as easy as possible. The brands that identify the systems and processes to achieve that will be in pole position. However, if they are to win the race they also need to raise awareness and confidence in mobile ordering and payment. To build further customer loyalty and confidence, which is so important in mobile ordering, iOrder can easily be personalised to a company’s brand.”