According to a Paytronix report, digital orders have risen to one-third of total restaurant and convenience store food orders, a large increase from just 12% pre-pandemic. While in-store sales remain down by nearly half, digital orders have remained elevated at 113% of pre-pandemic levels.

“Our ‘new normal’ means the digital guest experience is no longer secondary to the physical experience, it’s front and center and marks one of the biggest changes I’ve seen in 20 years working with brands,” said Andrew Robbins, CEO of Paytronix. “The opportunity for brands to use artificial intelligence to make experiences more personalized is huge. Learning directly from guests, presenting them with recommendations that resonate and instantly responding to their feedback with a personalized message from the store manager, is elevating brands that rely on their ability to connect with their guests.”

Report findings include:

• A rise in takeout orders — While delivery was king before and during the height of the pandemic, more recent data indicates that takeout orders now dominate digital orders, with numbers even higher than they were pre-pandemic. Takeout jumped from approximately 35% of orders in January 2020 to a majority in March 2022, a trend that appears to be increasing.
• Third-party delivery is here to stay — Third-party services will continue to play an important role in a customer acquisition strategy. To achieve success in today’s “new normal,” restaurants and c-stores need to embrace new technology and third-party options and explore how to successfully integrate them into existing operations.
• Delivery customers are different — For much of 2021, the average delivery tip was 12.5% of the subtotal, more than double takeout order tips. Also, 2021 takeout orders included a tip just 37% of the time compared to nearly 73% of delivery orders. Delivery customers are also more loyal, with 31% of orders coming from repeat customers.
• Customer feedback — Saving a guest relationship pays off. Paytronix data shows that issuing a coupon costs a restaurant $2.30 on average, but results in a $9.20 lift in that customer’s lifetime value. That four-times ROI means a timely guest recovery strategy is a must-have.
• AI is key to gauging customer sentiment — Fifteen percent of reviews with a rating of 4.5 or better actually have a negative sentiment and could benefit from action, while three-star reviews most frequently contain negative sentiment.

Paytronix Systems is based in Newton, Mass., and is a provider of SaaS customer experience management (CXM) solutions for restaurants and convenience stores. Through its innovative software design and integrations with more than 30 widely used point-of-sale systems, Paytronix empowers more than 1,800 brands across 34,000 locations.