Online Ordering and Food Delivery Services For Your Business

COVID-19 Impact on Restaurants and Food Delivery

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our dining experience, from going to restaurants for a special occasion to not being able to dine in at all.

As such, this has boosted the use of online ordering with Australians making more than 7,000 food orders every hour - with an average annual spend of $2,000 per household on food deliveries.

It is predicted that once everything goes back to normal, restaurants will have a hard time adapting as consumer habits have changed so dramatically.

Many customers will still want takeaway options to go home and eat with their families, rather than dine in.

Considering social distancing has become a norm in our society, consumers will most likely want to be seated further apart which may affect restaurants who relied on maximum capacity seating to boost profits.

Online Ordering Advantages

One advantage of consumers turning towards online food ordering is that it has allowed restaurants to expand their customer base - to not only their regular customers, but also to the many people who use popular food ordering apps like Uber Eats and Menulog.

The expansion of the food delivery industry has enabled the growth of approximately $2 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic.

In saying that, restaurants - especially smaller family owned joints - have been hit the hardest when it comes to using these apps to sell their food, as the costs of using these services has reduced profits dramatically.

As for restaurants, online ordering allows for more streamlined operations. It gives businesses the opportunity to upsell menu items, as well as drawing insights into customer information and food trends.

With COVID-19 having such a big impact on the home food delivery industry, here are some tactics and advice to help your restaurant or food business make the most of this opportunity.

Top 6 Ways to Make the Most of Online Ordering

Here are six tips on how to best utilise the benefits of online ordering, taking the negative impact the current pandemic has had on your business and trying to turn it into a positive one:

1) ENCOURAGE CUSTOMERS TO ORDER THROUGH YOUR WEBSITE

Using food delivery apps such as Menulog, Doordash and UberEats can be advantageous, because many customers are already familiar with these platforms and will start their order here. However, the drawback is indeed the cost and fees associated.

While it is recommended that these apps are still considered, businesses with a strong presence online may find it easier integrating their online menu with their website instead.

With many free tools available such as Jotform, creating food ordering forms have been made more simple. Try incentivising your customers to make their orders online through your website - that way you can dodge delivery costs and other related fees.

2) MAKE YOUR ONLINE MENU EASY TO NAVIGATE AND ACCESSIBLE

Now that you have set up your online menu ready for your customers to order, it is important to ensure that you make it easy to navigate. This involves keeping the menu aesthetically simple, showcasing best-sellers and using high quality images for all items. Be sure to check out our Food Menu and Pricing guide!

3) USE ADD-ONS TO UPSELL PRODUCTS

With your online menu optimised, now's the time to start thinking about how your customers can customise their orders. Things such as toppings, side dishes and condiments work well when upselling.

4) FOCUS ON MENU ITEMS THAT TRAVEL WELL DURING DELIVERY

Many restaurants feel the need to offer their entire menu through delivery services. However, not all food items travel well. As such, it may be worth reviewing your menu and removing any dishes that could lose their quality during delivery.

Also, as a part of your marketing efforts, it may be valuable showcasing what popular food items look like in takeaway containers - customers may be sceptical about portion sizing.

Providing this transparency may help win over those customers who could be hesitant about ordering takeaway food from you.

5) BUILD A CUSTOMER DATABASE TO HELP YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Online ordering helps your business collect important information from your customers, such as contact details. This makes it easy to inform them of anything from special offers to menu changes.

Building databases also lets you track purchase history, so you can easily create loyalty programs for your customers.

Over time, the data will be significant enough for you to start segmenting your customers by their location or ordering times - and even their preferred food items.

This means you can potentially draw valuable insights that could better inform your wider digital marketing strategies, such as tailoring your social media ads to suit the right audience and emailing the right food items to particular customer segments.

6) REGISTER YOUR BUSINESS WITH ONLINE ORDERING / DELIVERY APPS

Online food delivery apps allow for convenience and choice from the comfort of your home. It is also a very popular option amongst restaurants as it allows you to be found by a larger number of customers.

The COVID-19 era has seen the number of Australians spending on food delivery increase by 210%, compared to pre-pandemic levels. This has driven the demand for food delivery service, and has also presented a structure for the future of restaurants.

Top 5 Food Delivery Apps in Australia - And How To Sign Up

Here is a list of the top five food delivery apps in Australia that you can register your restaurant with today.

All delivery apps require you to sign up via an online registration on their website. The information provided in the sign-up page will then be sent to the delivery service team for approval.

All apps will have their pricing and processing information on their website. To learn more or to register with each of the top delivery apps individually, click the following links:

1. Deliveroo - https://restaurants.deliveroo.com/en-au/
2. Doordash - https://get.doordash.com/en-au
3. Menulog - https://www.menulog.com.au/info/join-menulog/register-my-interest
4. Uber Eats - https://www.ubereats.com/restaurant/en-AU/signup
5. Hey You - https://signup.heyyou.com.au/register/basic

Online ordering looks to be a very promising opportunity for both restaurants and cafes. However, the digital transition can be a tricky one. Taking our tips into consideration will help you make the most of these online ordering capabilities and bolster the performance of your business.

TIP: Make sure you carry out a full cost analysis before committing to using a food delivery app. Consider the cost of the fees involved, and the effect it will have on your profits.