POS
Operational costs slicing into your pizza profit margins? The right tech could help
There are simple, affordable tech solutions that can cut down on the hours it take to enter customer orders, coupons, data and inventory into a POS system.
July 11, 2024 by Deepti Mendiratta — Vice President of Product Management, HungerRush
Are pizza restaurants profitable? Ask dozens of pizza restaurant owners across the country and most of them will say 'Not as much as they used to be.' There's a lot of dough to be made serving America's favorite food, but with rising food and labor prices, operational costs are eating into profit margins big time.
So, what can a restaurant do to hit their numbers?
Increase profits with the right restaurant technology
When talking to restaurant owners, especially smaller chains and independently owned restaurants, we find their teams are often still manually entering custom orders, coupons, data and inventory -- which adds thousands of dollars to the payroll every quarter.
There are now simple, affordable tech solutions on the market that can cut those hours down to a fraction and automate time-consuming, manual tasks from marketing to inventory management.
Restaurant technology can really affect your profits. For example:
- Order time. If you find a POS solution that handles complex orders and modifications, we've found it cuts down on order entry time by up to 75%. This streamlines your teams' time and allows the kitchen to squeeze in more orders each hour.
- Inventory. If you find a POS solution that also handles inventory, you cut down on the time it takes to count pepperoni, manually pull inventory reports — tasks that keep operators up well past closing time. You'll also gain increased visibility on spending, which will help you trim off food waste and be more effective in food cost projections.
- Delivery management. Food delivery is one of the largest opportunities for growth for pizza restaurants; yet not all POS systems have robust delivery management that can handle larger order volumes. Finding a POS system that includes in-house online ordering and transparent delivery management can cut down on third-party delivery fees. Better yet, choosing a POS solution that handles both in-house and third-party food ordering apps expands delivery radius, gives customers more ordering options, and helps restaurants maximize orders off-premises they may have otherwise missed out on.
- Coupon and loyalty management. When it comes to food delivery, 51% of consumers say coupons and promotions are a deciding factor of where they choose to order from. That means it's important for pizza restaurants to be on top of their game with coupons. But a lot of POS solutions don't handle coupons well, leading to a lot of manual entry and extra payroll hours.
- Online ordering. We've found restaurants that offer a great online, text and phone ordering experience can increase profits by up to 10% to 20%. Offering multiple ordering channels lets you meet your customers where they are and how they like to order. When their preferred ordering channel is easy, fast and reliable, they will continue to turn to your restaurant when solving the all-important question: 'What's for dinner?' Over time, a trusted ordering channel builds a strong customer relationship with your brand that entices customers to join loyalty programs and keep coming back for more.
All-in-one tech solutions vs. multiple tech providers
We find that restaurants will often have five to seven different tech solutions and/or apps for different needs they have, which increases the monthly operational costs quickly. If you can find a POS system that handles most of everything you need in one place, you're going to save a lot of money on tech each year.
In addition, if issues arise, you have a dedicated support specialist versus trying to track down five different tech company customer service hotlines. If you can find an all-in-one tech solution that provides a lifetime warranty (which is rare) — it is even better.
Innovation and investment decisions in the POS industry
Technology must ultimately enhance the customer experience, not detract from it. Often customers can find themselves frustrated by the technology options, especially when they experience increased order inaccuracies, which can lead to a negative customer experience and a loss of repeat business.
The restaurant POS technology options on the market today are affordable, statistically cut down on order errors and ultimately give customers a better experience. A good deciding factor when you're making a restaurant tech decision is to always filter it through the eyes of the customer experience.
If you have technology that gives customers a seamless ordering experience online, on the phone, or through text that tracks delivery and offers coupons for the pizza they love — they will keep coming back for more and your profits will increase.
About Deepti Mendiratta
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