Introduction
The restaurant sector is facing constant transformation with the emergence of new hospitality industry trends and technologies, along with numerous challenges. Even with the roadblocks, the industry continues to grow at a staggering rate. According to the National Restaurant Association, the size of the restaurant industry in the U.S. is anticipated to increase from US$799 billion in 2021 to US$899 billion in 2022.
From fast food to fine dining, food delivery to contactless tech, well-known restaurateurs are investing in new technologies to build meaningful relationships with their staff and customers, improve the customer experience, and meet changing expectations of guests.
The hospitality industry is seeing the emergence of a new cashless restaurant trend as a result of the widespread adoption of advanced contactless POS technologies and rapid digital transformation. Furthermore, restaurants are moving away from accepting cash payments since more and more customers are embracing contactless payment alternatives like credit cards, UPI, and QR codes.
What Are the Features Driving the Cashless Restaurant Trend?
Dine-in establishments, such as restaurants, bars, and cafes, have become increasingly popular among the population today, leading to longer wait times for orders, slower service, and more difficulty processing cash payments. Furthermore, increasing hygiene concerns and rising incidences of internal theft across food spaces are deepening the cashless restaurant trend in the hospitality industry.
Let’s see some of the attractive features further encouraging restaurants to go cashless:
As digital currencies are paving the way of payment, guests are increasingly looking forward to visiting locations where they can make the payment swiftly without the need to carry physical money. Cashless restaurants make it easy for guests to pay with their mode of choice: credit or debit cards, net banking, payment gateways, QR code scanning, and others, offering the convenience customers and guests are looking for.
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Reduces Risk of Internal Theft
One of the significant problems that the majority of restaurants face is theft, which negatively impacts both profits and expansion opportunities. Theft has been commonplace in the eatery, especially when employees, rather than the owner, are in charge of the cash register. The National Restaurant Association estimates that staff theft costs quick-service restaurants between 5% and 7% of their revenue. However, a cashless restaurant operates entirely on the latest POS solutions and only accepts digital currency, eliminating the possibility of internal theft.
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Reduces Wait and Transaction Time
Transaction time is one of the crucial aspects that can impact the customer experience, especially across quick service restaurants. Difficulty completing a transaction due to lack of change and related issues can result in lengthening the wait time and creating a hassle. The adoption of electronic POS solutions by cashless restaurants resolves this issue, reducing the potential for such incidents to occur. This assists in speeding up the transaction process and decreasing wait times.
Cashless eateries with their modern restaurant POS solutions enable owners to track and record every digital payment transaction made by guests, providing essential data on who buys what and when. This opens up a new window for eating establishments to gain insight into their patrons' tastes and tailor their services accordingly, resulting in increasing footfall in the restaurant and an accelerating return on investment.
Modern POS Solutions: The Future Need of Cashless Restaurants
With the rise in the use of digital currencies and electronic payment solutions, food establishments are increasingly investing in deploying cashless restaurant POS systems to improve the customer experience while boosting their ROI. As per a survey, 94% of restaurants stated that they have invested in cashless payment solutions.
As the trend of cashless restaurants continues to gain popularity across the hospitality industry, food establishments accepting only cash are looking for ways to go cashless. This is anticipated to create a massive demand for modern restaurant POS software in the upcoming years.