FOOD and drink venues across the UK risk losing customers in the coming years if they don’t embrace the use of up to date EPOS systems and wider hospitality technology, according to credit card and payment services provider Barclaycard.
A new report from the firm has warned that customers are now expecting a streamlined, but also more personal, experience when dining out.
Some UK venues are already enabling their customers to order and pay for food and drink remotely using an app on their phone, cutting out the need to queue at the bar and making it easier to purchase additional items.
And cash, said Barclaycard, “is increasingly becoming a thing of the past”.
Quoting the UK Cards Association, the company stated that there are now more than 100 million contactless cards in use across the UK.
“As well as being faster, contactless payments can also reduce the chance that your employees could miscount change or accidently contaminate food after handling money,” said the report.
“So if your business doesn’t let customers pay using contactless cards, wearable technology or mobile devices in the future, you may find you’re missing out on sales.”
And EPOS systems which record customer information, including favourite dishes or drinks, can allow venues to make each visit a more personalised experience for regular customers, said the firm.
The Barclaycard report comes as the latest edition of the GO Technology survey from CGA and EPOS firm Zonal found that UK hotels are already losing revenue by neglecting technology.
The latest research, which focused on hotels, found that 45% of 18 to 34 year olds would order room service in hotels if they could do so using their smartphone.
