1. Home
2. Analysis & Insights

Serving up a new normal

It might be the understatement of the century to say it’s been a scrabble for businesses over the past few months. First, there was the panic to pivot into unfamiliar channels while familiar ones went dark. Then, there was the rush to become Covid-19 ready in time for the much-anticipated reopening of the on-trade on 4 July. 

It’s been a test of will and strength for many businesses to be here, towards the end of July, fighting fit in
a post-lockdown world. 

Perhaps inevitably, one of the few upsides to have emerged from the crisis lies in the role that technology has increasingly played in the way we work and interact. 

For the hospitality industry, nowhere has this change been more stark than in the rapid uptick in mobile-first technology, as bars and restaurants get to grips with government advice to use contactless ordering and payment as much as possible. 

Such platforms were around pre-coronavirus. Wetherspoons was an early adopter with its app that could be downloaded via iPhone or Android, which allows consumers to order and pay without having to budge from their seat. 

Post-lockdown, however, there has been an explosion in such apps, which not only allow for consumers to book a table, order and pay from their phones, but fold in the government’s test-and-trace requirements while bypassing crowds and queues. 

There have been challenges. The main one for businesses is which platform to choose. Do you use a third-party app (what are the security risks?) or create your own (costly, especially if you’re a small business)? Then, there’s the minefield of GDPR. 

One thing is for certain, though. This new wave of integrated consumer and business technology has given a jump-start to a section of the industry that has been slow to harness such powers.  

“Returning customers, rather than constantly attracting new ones, has always been the foundation of any successful restaurant, bar, café or takeaway,” says Tsewang Wangkang, co-founder and chief executive of hospitality loyalty platform, Embargo. 

“Yet digital solutions focused on rewarding and communicating with customers, not to mention tech for payments and ordering, have not been adopted on a wide scale. Covid-19 changed all this. The changes will not be short lived; they are here to stay.”

↓

Tuning in to apps

From the app-development side, innovation is coming thick and fast. Digital-first companies like the retail-focused Ubamarket have quickly manoeuvred into the hospitality space with offshoot app uBARmarket.

According to chief executive Will Broome, the new app can integrate with just about any existing system used by bars, pubs and restaurants across the UK, and acts as the menu, ordering system, loyalty scheme and the till. 

It also “learns the preferences and buying habits of customers so bar owners can personalise the experience for loyal customers”, he says – something that is vital for an industry whose “method of till and queuing systems have remained essentially unchanged for almost 100 years”. 

StoreKit Order & Pay and Sign In Point similarly allow venues to offer things like ordering, payment and encrypted test-and-trace capabilities all in one consumer-friendly app. 

Supplier Lanchester Wines is also convinced of the merits of offering such a service. Mark Roberts, director of sales, says the company saw the importance of offering a paid-for platform for its customers “particularly for independents or small chains”, around a year ago. It has since accelerated to bring its ReOpenApp to market. 

From a personalisation and data-capture point of view, the benefits are clear. 

Again, the major challenge is GDPR. On the face of it, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc with years of government threats to get tough on GDPR by asking venues to record the details of customers for 21 days. But while certain information can only be stored for medical purposes, such apps can still keep useful lines of communication open. For example, to keep customers up to date about health alerts in the area. 

Some customers may be happy for the business to use their information for marketing purposes. In the case of a local restaurant or bar, for example, a regular customer might be happy for the venue to maximise whatever assets it has available, particularly at a time like this. 

The key is to be transparent and do your homework before agreeing to work with a developer.

“You can develop an app for a cheap amount, but if it’s not speaking to your other systems and integrating properly, then there could be a major security risk,” says David Hough, partner at Blick Rothenberg, which advises the hospitality industry. 

“Ideally, businesses would be using a reputable provider that can integrate well with safety in mind. Speak to your provider about how they are capturing data in the background and what they’re going to do with it. There is value there to an app provider, particularly if you’re working across multiple sites, which can be a valuable tool in negotiations.”

Of course, not everyone is making the jump from contactless to consumer-focused payment and ordering systems. For small businesses especially, costs may be prohibitive and seem unnecessary. 

Then, there’s the issue of infrastructure and access to Wi-Fi. 

“As a nation, we still have connectivity issues across many rural or remote areas which can cause issues for such transactions,” says Roberts at Lanchester Wines.

Currently, there is no clear leader in the market. There’s no PayPal or Deliveroo equivalent in the hospitality sector that allows consumers to browse, order and pay all from the table or terrace. 

Until then, consumers will have to download the relevant software as and when they decide to visit. 

In the world of today, when going out for a glass of wine and bite to eat is more difficult, this could be one barrier or “friction point” too many. 

But it seems more likely that this technology is the beginning of a longer and more enduring road towards efficiency in bars and restaurants, and how they touch base with consumers along the way.

App tech to revolutionise a post-covid on-trade

Vagabond MD Stephen Finch tells Harpers about the new bespoke app for Vagabond Wines, which has been a year in the making: 

“We finally released the proprietary app we’ve been working on for Vagabond on 4 July and it’s going incredibly well so far. This isn’t some run-of-the-mill order-at-table app, which pretty much everyone will have now. With our app you can dispense wine from our wine dispensing machines simply by using your phone – no more tasting card needed. And in a couple of weeks our new beer walls, which are the beer equivalent of our wine machines, will work with the app too.  

“We also currently use an order-at-table platform, OrderBee, which will eventually migrate over to our app. Once it has, you can order anything, or dispense anything, without ever having to interact with a member of staff, or wait in any queues, or touch any objects other than your phone. It’s pretty amazing.”

• On-Trade
• Digital
• vagabond
• app
• Tech
• Coronavirus
• Covid-19
• wifi