eCommerce Solutions for the Food & Beverage industry
It's true. Ask almost anyone and they'll tell you they hate calling to order takeaway food - it's even a common cause of disagreements
at home!
And it doesn't matter how easy you make it, or how friendly you are when customers call - it's psychological. We opt for
takeaway food when we "can't be bothered to cook" - and are feeling lazy - making a choice from the menu is bad enough, let
alone dialling some numbers and then placing the order!
It seems obvious, but then doubt creeps in. There are a number of issues which must be considered surrounding the implementation of
an
eCommerce solution
into the food service environment including things such as ensuring tickets are made available in an appropriate
time frame and that orders cannot be mislaid.
There are various other complications including enforcing delivery areas, arranging for customers to come and collect their takeaway meal when a
delivery service is not offered, and so forth.
In conclusion, an
eCommerce solution
for takeaway food (or in any other segment of the Food & Beverage industry) has different requirements
and needs to be developed in a different way - with an understanding of how food and drink services work.
By integrating eCommerce into an existing business venture, many gains can be made - including reducing the barriers which customers experience
when ordering (the easier it is to place an order, the better). Despite the fact that conventional eRetail differs from providing an online
interface to food services, the main goals are essentially the same:
-
Attract new customers by increasing awareness of a service
-
Increase the frequency of purchases by existing customers by reducing barriers and offering incentives
-
Decrease the amount of time spent processing customer orders through business automation
-
Collect customer information for further, targetted marketing
These are just some examples - there are other more specific benefits available, for instance, if a push is made to migrate orders to the web
rather than using telephone as the main medium, it may be possible to decrease the need to print and distribute physical menus when changes
occur - as the new content will be available online.
If so, why not get in touch with us
to discuss your business needs and requirements and to find out if our solution is suitable for you?
We offer a
flexible eCommerce system,
and you can compare our eCommerce packages as well - although we tend to recommend our
premium eCommerce package
for Takeaway service, due to the bespoke nature of the business in hand.
Not just that, but we've got a lot of relevant experience, as well - the key members of our team met while working on a stock-management system
for wet/dry stock-taking in the Food & Beverage industry, and one of our directors also has previous experience in hospitality.
Start serving your customers! »