A Whopping 91% Of US Restaurants Will Invest In Kitchen Automation, Says Survey
A Whopping 91% Of US Restaurants Will Invest In Kitchen Automation, Says Survey
BY TYLER DURDEN SATURDAY, FEB 27, 2021 - 22:00
The virus pandemic did not change the trajectory of where the
restaurant industry was headed, but it did force years of change in a short
period. Restaurants are embracing artificial intelligence and automation to
revolutionize their business models.
A new report via payments company Square titled "Future of
Restaurants" discusses an overview of how
technology is sweeping through the industry. Square partnered with Wakefield
Research to survey 500 restaurant owners and managers across the country.
They found an overwhelming number of owners and managers are pivoting towards automation in the kitchen and embracing the hub-and-spoke model.
About 91% of respondents said they have made or planning to make
investments in kitchen automation technology.
So what's
the rush to digitize the backend of a restaurant?
Well, as explained by Bruce Bell, Head of Square for
Restaurants, he said:
"We're
seeing more of a hub-and-spoke model with the kitchen at the center of it all.
Restaurants embrace new channels for customers to interact with their business,
effectively meeting them wherever they are. Each of these channels represents a
revenue stream for the restaurant, and they connect to the same kitchen and are
all managed by the same centralized POS system."
Bell is essentially saying restaurants, via investments in kitchen automation technology, will be able or have already been able to pivot to various revenue streams at a moment's notice, such as making meal kits, dining room, groceries, delivery, among others.
"One
channel might be the dining room, one channel might be first-party delivery,
one channel might be meal kits, and so on," added Bell. "Having the
kitchen run as efficiently as possible extends that efficiency into all of
those channels."
Square said one respondent, Mediterranean fast-casual chain The
Kebab Shop, already invested in kitchen automation technology when the pandemic
struck, and quickly allowed it to pivot to curbside pickup and delivery.
"We're
really lucky that we keep everything in the same ecosystem," owner Wally
Sadat explained. "We were already digital-forward, so when it came to
implementing something on the fly, like during COVID, we were in a good
position."
Other notable stats from the survey shows how restaurants are
rapidly evolving in a post-COVID world:
- 3 in 4 restaurants plan on offering contactless
ordering and payment options across all channels.
- 59% of consumers are willing to buy items that are not
part of the restaurant's core offerings.
- 42% of restaurants plan to invest in customer loyalty
programs
- Restaurants that are using online ordering for
delivery and takeout expect 62% of revenue to come through those channels.
- 67% of consumers prefer to use a restaurant's own
website or app for food delivery.
- 92% of restaurant owners and managers are open to
experimenting with their menu.
- 88% of restaurants would consider completely switching
from physical to digital menus.
... and as readers may know when artificial intelligence and
automation are embedded into company businesses models - they become job
killers - suggesting technological unemployment will soar through this
decade.
How will
the economy replace the
millions of jobs lost if technology displaces them?
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