Why the hospitality industry is going to change forever – digital

Why the hospitality industry is going to change signifi cantly

The hospitality industry has for years lacked the focus that retail has had on digital innovation and technology, says Gavin Peters (pictured), chief marketing and strategy offi cer at Wi5 (a UK tech start-up that says it’s on a mission to save the hospitality industry).

MOBILE ORDERING SURGE

My assertion is not meant as a criticism, but rather, a fair refl ection of what the hospitality industry is designed for – great, physical connections with people, food and drink. But post-Covid-19, that is all about to change.

Necessity breeds innovation, and with some of those physical connections needing a little paring back for a while, we’ll now see tech step in to help solve some of those issues. The biggest and most obvious change in customer behaviour will be a surge in mobile ordering.

As operators have had to fi nd ways to enable social distancing and remove physical menus and cash, almost every major operator has invested in mobile ordering solutions. It will now become the normal way to order and pay for customers in-venue as well as for takeaway and delivery. Customers will avoid queuing near other customers or making any unnecessary contact with waiters, preferring to order and pay from their own devices.

And whereas previously, mobile ordering has never really gained truly mainstream traction, the vast improvements in the technology in recent years means that’s now set to change.

Customers no longer need to get frustrated waiting for an app to download, or registering for multiple wallets. Orders and payments can be completed in just a few simple clicks. The post-pandemic environment is likely to see customers fl ock to mobile out of necessity, and stick around due to the perhaps unexpectedly superior experience.

DATA

And with that change in ordering, hospitality operators will fi nally see one major benefi t that it’s never really had the luxury of benefi ting from - deep customer data.

Data has been described for years as ‘potentially the most valuable commodity in commerce’, but due to technology not being core to the experience, it’s fair to say that in hospitality, that potential has yet to be realised.

Yes, many operators now know much more about their customers than ever before, and we’ve come a long way since the idea of sending a customer a greeting on their birthday was seen as real innovation, but in terms of commercialising real insight, we’re only just scratching the surface.

With the majority of customers now set to shift away from ordering anonymously at the till or via kiosks, and towards their own devices, hospitality will take a leap into the e-commerce revolution from within bricks-and-mortar venues.

So what will this shift towards technology and data mean for operators, and how will they benefi t?

MANAGING CAPACITY

Firstly, operators will be better able to maximise off-peak capacity.

If restaurants, bars and cafés are only able to open at limited capacity, it’s crucial that those reductions are made up elsewhere. With less covers available on Friday and Saturday nights, custom will need to be spread throughout the week as much as possible, meaning it will be more vital than ever to really understand customers in order to help encourage shifts in behaviour and maximise loyalty.

Data gathered from mobile ordering will help operators understand more about peak and off-peak behaviour, and target customers with highly relevant messaging and offers to increase custom throughout the week.

Secondly, the core experience itself can be improved with deep customer insight. With confidence in the industry having taken a hit due to the virus, there may for some time be less spontaneous visits to restaurants.

Research shows that most customers are intending to revisit hospitality outlets relatively quickly after they reopen, but many will likely limit their total number of visits for some time. It’s going to be more competitive than ever for hospitality venues to become the customer favourite, and that means getting the service spot on.

With mobile ordering technology such as Wi5 - which has been adopted by the likes of Pizza Hut Restaurants and Pizza Pilgrims - customer feedback can be integrated into the order and payment solution, meaning real-time feedback can be given, generating previously unprecedented customer data.

UBIQUITOUS

Finally, the increase in mobile ordering - as customers seek to use their own devices to order and pay safely - will make a significant change to how technology ecosystems are managed in hospitality.

As mobile becomes a ubiquitous ordering channel, customer data from various streams can be connected like never before. Operators will therefore prioritise open-platform technology, where data can be shared between partners, to gain a holistic understanding of the customer experience.

In essence, the CRM (customer relationship management) system will be able to connect to real-time ordering data, alongside data from Wi-Fi, social, vouchers, loyalty and customer feedback to help enhance the customer experience in previously unrealised ways.

The opportunities created through a new emphasis on technology and data will be vital for businesses going through these unprecedented changes, and those getting it right will transform how they look at what the customer experience, and what modern hospitality operations look like for both customers and operators.

The shift to mobile caused by the pandemic will finally see hospitality make a giant leap into the tech world.

Mobile ordering

As part of its preparation for re-opening its restaurants in London and Oxford, Pizza Pilgrims announced a partnership with Wi5, a mobile order and pay solution. Through Wi5, Pizza Pilgrims will be offering secure and Covid-safe mobile ordering to its customers for both eat in and takeaway.

Wi5’s mobile ordering and payment technology offers a seamless experience for customers of the fastgrowing pizza chain, enabling them to order and pay quickly and easily from their own device, and also helping to alleviate concerns over social distancing in the process.

Navigating to the menu via a QR code, or advertised URL, customers can safely select and customise menu items, place their order and pay securely thanks to Wi5’s ISO/IEC 27001 information security certification. This evolution to mobile order and pay frees up Pizza Pilgrims’ staff to focus on delivering the high quality service the restaurant chain has become known for, whilst integrating these new measures to keep its customers safe, post Covid-19.

Wi5 will roll-out across all 13 Pizza Pilgrim stores July, say the company, and follows Pizza Pilgrims’ recent national launch of its innovative Pizza in the Post.

“When imagining our pizzerias re-opening, we created a clear vision of what our customer experience would look like with three clear principles guiding our decisions,” says Pizza Pilgrims’ operations director, Gavin Smith.

“Our first aim was to build a frictionless journey for our team and customers and so began my search for the best partners. After scouring the market for partners who met our brief, it was evident that Gavin, Jon and the team at Wi5 had the perfect solution.

“I see Wi5 as the market leaders today in order and pay at table technology due to their superior functionality, user-friendly interface, competitive pricing, advanced integration with POS providers, but most importantly the synergy their incredible and dynamic team has with our own.

“My staff are very excited about opening and being able to make excellent Neapolitan pizza with a dedicated partner who will be helping to make it so easy for our customers and team to do so safely and quickly.”