The POS is changing! the evolution in the food service industry

In order to meet new demands and trends of the eating-out market that has been increasingly growing, the POS systems of the Food Service Industry also had to face major changes. Nowadays, there are tools in response to this evolution that facilitate the work, thus optimizing the market demands.

Reducing the queue for ordering

With reduced lunch hours, consumers opting by eating out don’t want to waste time in long queues – a big challenge to food service stores that need to seek alternatives to constantly improve productivity.

In this context, the mobile technology plays an important role to speed up the service: during peak hours it can be helpful as we call “queue skipper“, anticipating the orders along the queue, before reaching the regular cashier. Thus, the orders are sent to the kitchen in advance, speeding up the preparation of the food. Some solutions even allow to make the payment the mobile system itself.

Solutions to personalize, speed up service and generate strategic information

Mobile apps are already a top trend and have becoming more and more essential. Food, maps, music, tickets, time, pictures and transportation are few tasks and hobbies that have becoming easier with the technology.

One of the trends in the food service market is the increasing need to provide options for the consumer to customize their meals as much as possible, ensuring an delightful and rewarding experience. And, to understand the consumers’ needs, there is nothing better than to use the applications resources accessed by customers whenever and wherever they want.

Some companies work with general applications for the industry, covering multiple brands and establishments, however, the major trend is that large food chains provide their own applications.

This trend is widely consolidated abroad, and here we walk towards the same direction. The main competitive advantage of an exclusive application is that the retailer can understand its consumers’ needs and, thus, may elaborate promotions, menus, combos and even sandwiches specific to each region or target audience.

All these benefits are added to the institutional strengthening of companies that manage to consolidate their brands and become a benchmarking. In some applications, for example, it is possible to place the order on the way to the restaurant and pick it up at the store – from the customization of the meal to the payment are made through the application.

Data stored serve as reference allowing the retailer to offer, in the next purchase, options that suit better a particular consumer profile. These practices add value to the establishments, which makes them specialists when it comes to their audiences.

Self-service totem

A culture already entrenched in other countries and that has been gaining space in Brazil is the “do it yourself” – in a different line from the model-making or customization. “Do it yourself” refers to the self-service, aimed at speeding up processes for the consumer.

Thus, self-service totems have been adopted by some businesses as a good option for peak hours, and this practice has been particularly beneficial for fast food companies.

With the totems it’s possible to reduce the time of service, personalize customer’s meal, quickly send orders to the kitchen and even increase the average ticket of the sale (due to the intuitive purchase and by adding products or supplements that are often not offered at the cashier).

Check the self-service solution offered by Linx to fast food shops and restaurants.

Greater assertiveness in orders and purchase of inputs – made according to the actual need, thus avoiding waste – time optimization, improved productivity, in-depth knowledge on customer’s base are some of the benefits that new technologies already provide for the point of sale food service industry. All applicable to the daily routine of retailers, assisting the sustainable growth and leaving the company ready for the next retail innovations that can be launched at any time.