The news of Restauração's death has clearly been exaggerated. Despite the difficulties that the sector has faced and is still facing as a result of the pandemic, the truth is that the Restoration knew how to reinvent itself and give customers the comfort and security that would make them return to its spaces.
Proof of this are the figures recently released by the REDUNIQ Insights report in which you can see that total turnover in the restaurant sector, after a "forgettable" 2020, grew by 59% in 2021 compared to the same period last year.
According to the report, this very positive performance figure for this category can be explained by the almost complete dematerialisation of payments, both in cafés and restaurants, but also by the increase in the number of people using this service. payment terminals.
The need for catering businesses to introduce alternative means of payment at the point of sale is just one of the possible answers to the question "how to increase the average ticket of a restaurant", but there are more factors. Get to know them:
How to increase the average ticket in a restaurant?
Bet on contactless payment terminals
Among the alternative means of payment that can most contribute to increase restaurant sales is, without a shadow of a doubt, the contactless. Drawing once again on the REDUNIQ Insights report on the panorama of transactions in Portugal, it can be seen that the weight of the contactless payments in business turnover has been growing month after month.
If, in January 2020, the contactless technology accounted for 10% of the total turnover of Portuguese businesses, by last December this percentage had already reached 53%, while transactions carried out using this technology totalled 71%, percentages which, as you can see, end up having a tremendous impact on the average restaurant ticket (the average amount spent by the customer on each purchase).
Throughout the pandemic, the question "do you accept contactless?" has become one of the most common questions asked by consumers in businesses open to the public, and restaurants have been no exception. Why?
For greater speed, security and hygiene (card/smartphone and terminal do not touch) during the transaction, the contactless payments quickly and forcefully entered the consumption habits of the Portuguese, causing the restaurants and other businesses that offer contactless POS are more attractive to customers' eyes and wallets.
→ See Infographic: Contactless payments and the impact of Covid-19
On the side of catering entrepreneurs, the adoption of means of payment contactless ultimately allows them to answer the question "how to increase the restaurant's sales" more effectively, since it generates more sales due to reduced waiting times, better cash management (reduced cash handling costs) and a more personalised service, since some terminals already make it possible to record and confirm customer orders.
This is the case with the innovative Android automatic payment terminal – REDUNIQ Smart which, in addition to allowing a physical shop to accept contactless payments with card, chip, MB WAY, Google Pay and Apple Pay, incorporates a set of management apps that help businesses and allow them to be totally mobile and digital.
By functioning as Contactless TPA and management centre connected to the digital world, this new solution from REDUNIQ offers extra flexibility to catering businesses in managing their resources, since, for example, with the WinRest app and the ZS RestYou can display menus, register and confirm customer orders and integrate your invoicing software with the TPA thus guaranteeing business management from a single automatic payment terminal.
Create seasonal promotions
Promotions are a classic strategy for attracting customers and, best of all, in most cases they work. In addition to promotional activities on public holidays, choose the least busy days of the week to offer discounts and special offers.
Likewise, try to extend your promotions to seasonal products for each season, as this will not only provide a different experience for your customers but will also awaken a sense of urgency, as products are available for a limited time.
Use customer success techniques
In practice, Costumer Success techniques are linked to customer satisfaction and are applicable from the moment the customer walks through the door of your establishment right through to the after-sales service. Remember that the best way to improve the consumer experience and generate more sales is to monitor and listen to what your customers have to say about the restaurant's service.
Here are a few techniques that are part of the Customer Success strategy and that you can start implementing immediately in your restaurant:
- Elaborate surveys: encourage your customers to share with you, through an offer or discount, the positive and negative points of the service they found in the restaurant.
- Analyse the data: by analysing the data collected through the previous technique, which you hope will be as realistic as possible, you'll be able to get a more concrete view of what you need to change in order to provide a more appealing consumer experience for your customers and potential customers, since in the restaurant business, "getting the word out" is extremely important in attracting new customers.
- Create a buying journey: after analysing the data, think in depth about how to create (or improve) the customer's buying journey in your restaurant. As well as reformulating the dishes on the menu, this journey should also include the decoration of the environment, the sounds and smells, the service and all the other elements that make up the consumer experience within a restaurant.
Diversify your menus
The dishes on the menu are, without much margin for error, the main motivation behind a visit to a restaurant.
With the guarantee of quality dishes always on the table, consider making changes to the menu in order to attract new customers and provide new experiences for regulars, thereby boosting sales.
If you're not sure which dishes will get the best results, test them with your regular customers and make adjustments according to their responses.
Create loyalty programmes
Since retaining customers is just as difficult as gaining new ones, creating loyalty programmes is always a good strategy for appreciating repeat customers.
For example, your loyalty programme could include the offer of one meal for every 10 meals of X value. Knowing in advance the average ticket of each of your customers, set a value that is neither too low as to cause you a loss nor too high as to frustrate your customers because of the difficulty they have in reaching the value per meal that entitles them to a free lunch or dinner.
The main advantage of loyalty programmes is that you won't have to worry about increasing your customer base in order to make more money, since the growth in the average ticket will come from the extra consumption that your regular customers will make in order to get, for example, a free meal.
Work with online orders
Online shopping has definitely entered the lexicon and consumption habits of the Portuguese. If your goal is to increase your restaurant's average ticket, consider taking food orders online and having them delivered.
This will not only help the restaurant win new customers, but is also important in retaining regular customers who for one reason or another don't want to or can't travel to the physical establishment.
You can make this online ordering service even more profitable if you create special discounted menus for this modality, as these can be a powerful attraction for new customers.
In order not only to make it easier for you to contact your customers, but also to speed up online payments of those who work with online orders, REDUNIQ offers the catering sector the REDUNIQ@Payments, a powerful tool that will help your restaurant increase its average ticket.
As well as having no membership costs, fixed costs or monthly fees, this ready-to-use solution requires no integration and allows you to receive payments remotely by email, SMS or WhatsApp, by ATM reference, MB WAY or with Visa and Mastercard cards.
The way this solution works is simple: your customer contacts you with a request/order (by phone, e-mail or social media). Once the order has been noted, with the REDUNIQ@Payments you can immediately issue a payment request via a link (via e-mail, SMS or WhatsApp) and proceed to deliver the order to your customer, safe in the knowledge that payment is guaranteed as you will receive a notification proving that the transaction has taken place.
→ Read also: Restaurants usher in a new era in customer service
Maximise your offer
With the growth in the number of people who, for example, adopt vegetarian/vegan diets or who are looking for healthier or more functional food, it's becoming important for traditional restaurants to adapt to this new reality by including some options on their menu so as not to lose sales.
As well as serving a wider range of customers, this maximisation of the offer on your menu will end up generating a higher average ticket, since the price of dishes from these non-traditional diets is usually higher.
EN 
PT