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How Mobile Apps are Reshaping the Food Industry

Generation Z is all about mobile. And mobile is all about apps. Whether it is travel, shopping, beauty or even food, everything has gone a step ahead of mere “digital” now. The convenience and speed of it all coupled with the immense amount of possibility around it only keeps giving a boost to the whole app trend. It is right to say that it is not enough to have a website anymore. You need to have an app if you want to make the most of every opportunity that exists and is relevant to you. No wonder we all knew that one day, mobile apps would transform the food industry too.

Much of this trend can be attributed to the extensive use and evolution of smartphones. If you had the option to get your favorite cuisine in just a few screen taps, why would you want to try anything else ever? It is not just about ordering food that’s remarkable but also, the way mobile apps are now getting you more involved in the food industry.

• On-demand Food Delivery = Better Customer Loyalty

On one hand, restaurants and cafes have their own apps delivering directly to their patrons and on the other, there are apps that connect food lovers to multiple restaurants and joints within their vicinity. In either case, access to food has become easier than ever before. While customers enjoy this convenience, food joints are hugely benefitted from such a wide reach and expansion of their business. That is also the reason why it is easier for users to find multiple discount offers and privileges on eating-out and ordering-in alike, helping build a stronger relationship between consumers and businesses.

• Unlimited options at your fingertips

Menus have gone digital, geo-location has made tracking easier and advanced search options are a boon for specific hunger cravings. So, if a person is craving only for donuts, they can simply use a food delivery app to search for donuts in and around their neighborhood. They can further streamline their search on the basis of their favorite toppings, accompaniments, and beverages.

• Quick and advanced reservations

Gone are the days when you had to struggle over a phone call or wait in long queues to get a table at a nice place. Mobile apps catering to the food and beverage industry has stepped in to simplify this aspect as well. All you need to do now is browsing through the apps to find your desired eating place, choose a date and time and voila! Your tables would be booked. Or at least you would get to know when they are full. It saves you plenty of time and energy.

• Real-time Ratings and Feedback

By bridging the gap between the food business and the consumers, mobile apps have also made it possible to get a clearer picture of how well a particular menu is being received. Customers can give their ratings and detailed feedback about the food that they order and taste or the ambiance of a place they dine at, the behavior of the wait staff and several other parameters. This allows constant room for improvement in terms of variety as well as quality.

• Better Kitchen Management, Sourcing and Inventory

For businesses, mobile apps contain very useful components such as keeping a track of the inventory. So, it gets way easier to know when to buy what ingredient and in what quantity, when to stop buying a particular ingredient etc. These apps fundamentally integrate task-lists that make even kitchen management easier and more efficient than ever before. That is what allows restaurants and cafes to cater to the huge number of orders every day. Besides, processing payments through quick, safe and versatile payment methods is a huge plus to the overall experience.

• Better Online Presence

Irrespective of the industry you belong to, it is critical to have a strong online presence in order to succeed in the market. It enhances your brand value and image while allowing you to stay in tune with the current trends. More importantly, it is social media platforms and online profiles where most of the people get to know about new restaurants around them. That is what compels them to want to sample a new place or a new addition to an old menu. Mobile apps that are dedicated to food delivery or food reviews ensure that you get an equal opportunity to strengthen your online presence as well. “Share” buttons, review options and other features integrated within the apps allow your brand and menu to be shared and exchanged over social media channels thereby encouraging effortless marketing for you!

The development of mobile apps has become indispensable in the food and beverage industry. Whether your goal is to get more productivity from your business or you want to connect with your target market at a more direct level, customized mobile apps are an ideal way to go about it. There are so many possibilities that you could explore in order to stand apart from your competitors. For example, including cooking contests within an app, introducing interactive offers to launch a new dish on the menu, special discounts when you open up a new branch or technology to improve the way your manage your business operations and orders.

While a well-established third-party food-ordering app could be a great way to add to your business strategy, you could benefit way more from an app that is customized as per your business and nature of the food that you serve. There are pros and cons to both and it is important to weigh them all before you consider choosing one over the other. Dedicated in-house apps may give you a better share of the profits and may even be more targeted as compared to a third-party alternative. However, third-party apps may have the upper hand when it comes to covering a broader customer base. They usually have a better reach, are more popular and may get you more business. The idea is to focus on the area of your interest/concern before you decide to go ahead with any kind of mobile app that would cater to your business needs.

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