FEATURE
The Digital Influence in India’s Restaurant Business By Jhuma Biswas
T
he wave of digitalisation has greatly influenced many of our industries, and food service business is no exception to this trend. The digital wave has opened up many new possibilities for the food service business and has also induced our food service industry to become more sensitive to its consumer responses and preferences. Of course, proliferation of foodtech companies with their online food ordering facility has revolutionsed the food service industry, and nowadays you do not need to step out of your homes to have the taste of eating out (though holistic eating out experience is a different matter, for which you need to visit restaurants to get a feel of the ambience, décor, concept, and service of the outlet concerned).
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After the lockdowns, the food delivery industry in India is recovering at a fast pace and online food ordering business is expected to grow further in our Covid inflicted times, in the near future. But the extensive role of digitalisation in food service business goes much beyond online food ordering.
Increased Accountability Nowadays thanks to online sites like Zomato, TripAdvisor and many other renowned online platforms, and also due to social media channels like Facebook, the power of guests has increased manifolds. In this digital age if a restaurant falters in terms of taste, ambience or hygiene, there is not only a high chance of getting quick adverse criticism but those adverse
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views can also go viral in digital platforms in quick time. For example, if a restaurant’s washroom is found unclean or if its tablecloths are found dirty or if its waiters are unkempt, then the guests are not only likely to avoid giving the restaurant a repeat visit, but may also post their ire about the restaurant on the social media. And if the post goes viral, of which there is a decent possibility, then the restaurant is in for serious trouble, which can not only be restricted to plummeting of its image and revenues but may also extend to initiation of stringent legal action against it. Especially, during these trying times w h e n t h e wo r l d i s g ra p p l i n g w i t h a pandemic and restaurants across India are allowed to resume operations only with
Aug-Sept ’20
