What consumers want from restaurant tech

The rapid evolution of restaurant technology is shaping how operators do business and how consumers interact with eating establishments. According to a survey of more than 2,200 consumers by Toast, a restaurant technology platform, 82 percent of consumers eat out once a week, 81 percent have used a restaurant website to place an order, and 95 percent of operators say technology improves business efficiency.

“As technology gets less expensive and more systems talk with each other, software will get smarter and not only provide analytics, it will automatically tell the restaurant owner where the problems are and what they need to fix,” said David Scott Peters, founder of TheRestaurantExpert.com.

But what do your customers expect when it comes to technology at restaurants? Here are some highlights the survey uncovered:

• 73 percent of surveyed consumers said technology improved the restaurant experience
• Online reservations, Wi-Fi and online ordering were the top three tech features surveyed consumers want restaurants to provide
• 81 percent of surveyed consumers have placed an online order at a restaurant’s website
• Mobile pay still represents only a small fraction of preferred payment for surveyed consumers