The deadly impact of the Covid – 19 virus on human lives has instilled a fear in people leading to drastic changes in their behaviour, forcing them to act in ways which were earlier unheard of, creating a new normal for the society. The so-called “New Normal’’ stresses over maintaining social distancing, strict hygiene standards and comprehensive sanitation practices where masks are now an integral part of the modern dress code. This contradicts the concept of dining out, which over the years had become a medium of networking and socializing, where cozy diners, large gatherings and grand celebrations were a part of people’s everyday lives. Hence, it would take months for things in the hospitality sector to get back to the pre-pandemic scenario. In fact, this shift in consumer behaviour is set to bring in long term changes in the dining out culture, creating new dining trends.
As the lock down gets lifted in phases in different parts of the country, the restaurant industry gears itself for this new normal following social distancing protocols and taking preventive measures to bring consumer confidence back into the dine in business. Apart from distanced seating arrangements and aggressive cleaning measures smart restaurants are adapting to modern technologies, to maintain social distancing at their restaurant premises. After contactless deliveries they are set to bring in the contactless trend to the dine in business by introducing contactless dining orders and payments.
Contactless dining as the name suggests, aims to minimize human contact or customer’s involvement with the restaurant’s staff and other components by providing a tech driven online platform that enables diners to place their orders directly through their phones by scanning the qr codes at their table for a digital menu of the restaurant and selecting the food items that they want to order without having to interact with the restaurant staff or flip through the pages of a physical menu. They can further choose to settle their bill via online payment methods, thus, assuring customers a safe dining experience.
The contactless trend will redefine the restaurant landscape, bringing in significant changes in the way it operates, where QR codes replace physical menus, guest interactions increase more with the brand than the staff and leather wallets get replaced by mobile wallets. The practice of online ordering, pre-booking tables at the restaurant, online payments were prevalent even before the pandemic but it will gain more popularity in the post covid world. There will be an increase in investment in technology than restaurant infrastructure and human resources, shifting focus from restaurant aesthetics to its operations, making customer health their top most priority.
The covid situation adds on to the existing troubles of the restaurant industry who are already struggling with the pressure of a heavy competition and of living up to the growing consumer expectations thereby threatening their chances of survival and jeopardizing their future. The only way of having a competitive advantage now depends on choosing the right technology that could incorporate these trends, meet the future needs of customers, reduce restaurant costs and provide feasible solutions.
RanceLab has been serving the hospitality industry since 1996 with its advanced solutions and excellent service that helps businesses leverage more out of their operations, reduce costs and increase profitability. It assists businesses to constantly reinvent themselves to meet the ongoing market demand, analyze consumer behaviour and create new trends. Understanding the impact of the virus on the hospitality sector and the need for immediate solutions for business sustenance in the post covid world, RanceLab has introduced contactless delivery ordering platform, contactless dining orders and payments for restaurants, integrated with backend ERP for centralized control and governance. It provides restaurateurs with an online platform that enables contactless customer interactions with the brand along with provisions to extend loyalty benefits to devoted customers.
