A recent survey found over 88% of respondents were considering swapping to a digital menu
I addition over 66% wanted to add contactless payment points.
The survey, carried out by Wakefield Research from Dec. 9, 2020 to Dec. 21, 2020 for Square's Future of Restaurants report was carried out in USA but, with a similar experience of pandemic and lockdown, it seems likely a similar response would be found amongst owners of UK restaurants.
The report continues
While the pandemic forced 85% of operators to completely reorganize their operations, restaurant owners are increasingly adopting contactless technology, takeout and delivery services, resulting in a significant change in how they interact with and take orders from guests.
Contactless technology has increasingly become the standard for off-premise channels, especially because a majority of customers tend to order online or through third-party aggregators.
Printed menus are considered as one of the least safe options within the sector. Single use menus were used during the first wave of the pandemic but they are wasteful and expensive. A digital menu offers a much more effective alternative: easy to clean and sanitise, they can be updated easily.
More benefits of digital menu
Used correctly, digital menu boards also have additional benefits. They can easily be updated so promoting new lines or seasonal food is easy. Strong visuals and branding will increase order value. And many screens include features such as scheduling software that allows you to better target audiences according to time of day, week or month.
Digital menu offers another opportunity to go contactless. This will help boost customer confidence in the safety of any restaurant, takeaway, cafe etc.
In recent years digital menu boards have become easier to set up, easier to update and cheaper to buy so they offer a genuine investment on the future growth of any catering or hospitality business.