Many Restaurants Now See Mobile Point of Sale Technology as Key to Future Growth

Now that internet has become an integral part of the average consumer’s life, more and more, restaurants are seeing this hold true for their business operations as well. According to a new study by Hospitality Technology, mobile point of sale is entering an adoption curve for restaurants around the country. No longer are restaurants holding to a “wait and see what happens” outlook — now, deployment is the way forward.

Tablets in particular have been a wise investment for many restaurants that have been first-adopters of new technology options. Tablets not only help create less friction for the point of sale, but they can also serve as a high-resolution billboard for various offered foods and drinks. Genghis Grill, an Asian stir-fry restaurant, reports that they have experienced a 27% sales increase in some locations since introducing tablets 18 months ago.

Technology is shaping the future of the restaurant industry in multiple ways — smartphone apps are helping to create new revenue for brand operations. “It used to be kind of a tool for operations or a supplement, and [it] is now stepping forward and becoming an actual profit center and driving the sales,” explains Jeff Weiss, who is in charge of information technology for Dave & Buster’s.

Weiss explains that customers at Dave & Busters have been using mobile in-store kiosks as well, and that not only have guests been fine with the technology — “machines up-sell better than our servers.” Others in the industry have noted that the average size of online orders is typically about twice that of non-online orders — this is likely because of an observed phenomenon in which consumers will spend more money the less friction they encounter at the point-of-sale.

“Tablet POS, and tableside ordering in particular, has been a huge benefit to our restaurant clients,” says Eric Catania, CEO atDigital Reality POS for Retail and Restaurants. “Servers have all of the tools at their fingertips for easy upsells, including beautiful high-res images, and customers are amazed at how quickly the food and drinks arrive.”