Paytronix & PYMNTS Report: Integrating Digital and On-Site Experience is Key to Driving Restaurant Sales

Paytronix and PDI Put the Digital-Ordering Channel in the Retailer’s Growth Playbook

Digital orders make up the majority of sales at brick-and-mortar restaurants.

  • 41% of average restaurant’s sales come through digital channels, 32% on-premises, and 26% via phone.

  • Restaurants charge 24% more for items on aggregators than on their own websites.

  • The average restaurant prices items 3.8% lower for members ordering through loyalty program channels than for customers ordering on its website.

Paytronix Systems, Inc., the most advanced digital guest experience platform, published The 2022 Restaurant Friction Index, which finds that restaurant managers are looking to integrate physical and online customer experience as a key component of their innovation strategy. Already a cross-channel ordering experience is a key part or a restaurant’s success, as 41% of the average restaurant’s sales now come through digital channels, including mobile apps, aggregators, and websites. This share of sales is far more than the 32% the average restaurant generated via its brick-and-mortar location and the 26% generated via phone calls.

Read More: Convenience Stores Own The Third-Party Delivery Channel With Paytronix Handoff(SM)

Download the full report, The 2022 Restaurant Friction Index

Restaurants now receive orders through an average of 2.7 different purchasing channels at any given time. Consumers place these orders via mobile app, aggregator, desktop website, on-site visits, or over the phone. One impact of this development is that more sales now are generated through digital channels than either on-site or over the phone.

“Today’s most successful restaurants look at the customer experience holistically, not as separate channels,” said Andrew Robbins, CEO of Paytronix Systems, Inc. “It’s now about a convergence in which every aspect of a brand works in concert to create a branded and personalized experience. In this environment loyalty, payments, and digital ordering all work in concert so that whether a guest orders from their couch or from the table in a restaurant, the experience is one that keeps them coming back.”

Consequently, 41% of managers now consider it “very important” to provide customers with a consistent, integrated cross-channel ordering experience. Notable shares believe that providing the right ordering options (39%) and payment options (38%) would be “very” important to their innovation strategies going forward. Loyalty features and pickup options were equally common considerations for managers, cited by 38% each.

The Aggregator Markup – Restaurants charge an average of 24% more for menu items listed on aggregators than for the same items listed on their own websites. QSRs are the most likely restaurant type to bump up their aggregator prices, with 27% of QSR managers confirming that they sell the same foods for higher prices on aggregators than they do on their websites. Just 14% of table-service restaurant managers do the same.

Rewarding Loyalty – The research shows that 96% of restaurant managers mark down prices for loyalty program members, and the average loyalty discount clocks in at roughly 3.8%.

Delivering Seamless Order Experiences — Integrated digital ordering and payment options are no longer competitive differentiators but rather foundational to the restaurant business.

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