Online Ordering

Online ordering solutions allow restaurants, grocery stores, and other merchants to accept orders through a website or mobile app. Providing Online Ordering as a Service involves providing a hosted solution for your customer that allows their customers to browse a menu or item list, place orders, and pay in advance. Depending on the solution, you may also be able to provide customers with the ability to accept reservations, notify customers when their orders are ready, and collect and analyze data on their customers and their menus.

Why it Matters to your Customers

There is a growing trend among consumers to order ahead on their PCs or mobile devices and arrange for pickup or delivery when it’s convenient for them. In fact, for some restaurants that traditionally had dine-in models, orders for takeout or delivery are becoming their primary revenue stream. Businesses that can’t offer this service may struggle to keep up with competitors that do.

Online ordering also presents merchants with an opportunity to streamline processes and operate more efficiently and cost-effectively. It eliminates the need for an employee to stop what they’re doing and answer the phone to take an order and then manually enter it into the point of sale (POS) system or take it to the kitchen. It also eliminates order errors caused by an employee not understanding the customer over the phone or illegibly writing an order.

Why Online Ordering is an Opportunity

Merchants are now adding this service or looking for solutions to replace antiquated systems so they can operate with greater efficiency. Restaurants looking to enable this functionality quickly may choose to work with a third-party ordering company. This option can be expensive—either a flat rate or a percentage per order—and they may not integrate with the merchant’s in-house system, which means an employee still has to enter orders manually. The solution you can provide will have a lower total cost of ownership and result in greater efficiency, which are two things a prospect can’t ignore.