Restaurants Are Betting On Mobile In 2013
Hospitality Technology did a survey on US executives running restaurants around the globe about the marketing tactics employed in 2013 to promote their units. There was an increase on each of the tactics used, social media leading with 89% of respondents. Most restaurants used Facebook (94%) this year, followed by Twitter (77%), Yelp (53%), YouTube (50%), foursquare (42%) and Pinterest (28%).
Location-based marketing saw a big boost and was used by 27% of restaurants in 2013, compared to 16% in 2012. This unique strategy is giving them the opportunity to reach customers while they are out on the streets looking for a meal. Restaurants also increased their use of daily deals and loyalty programs. Of all respondents, more than half of respondents had a mobile site, and about 30% had an app.
Most used features in the mobile apps were: menus (96%), restaurant search and locating it using GPS (65%), finding out nutritional information (52%), ordering food (43%) and coupons (35%).
Just a couple of days ago McDonald’s announced they are testing a mobile payment application in Salt Lake City and in Austin, Texas. Customers will be able to order via a mobile phone and then pick up food in stores or at drive-thru windows. There will also be used incentives like offers and a loyalty program. “We’re always looking at new technologies to make the McDonald’s experience better for our customers. We are testing some of these technologies in a few markets, so it’s premature to speculate on the decisions we may make after the tests, but we’re excited to bring a cutting-edge experience in the future to our customers.” Lisa McComb (spokeswoman for McDonald’s) told Bloomberg.
People are getting used to checkout menus before going somewhere to it, according to a survey from EverythingMobile, of all searches for restaurants performed, 51% of them visited a restaurant and 30% made a purchase. The survey also gives hints on when is the most appropriate time for restaurants to do mobile campaigns. For more details checkout the infographic below.
