Established restaurant businesses don’t always adapt to changes in the marketplace, technology, or consumer expectations too quickly.  However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the restaurant industry to adopt many new methods of service and marketing. This resulted in an influx of industry trends that will impact restaurant operators all across the United States in the coming years.

Some of these restaurant industry trends were actually already gaining ground with small businesses before the pandemic struck.  The increased consumer demands and advancing digital technology have all but ensured that these trends will be significant mainstays adopted as the new norm. 

1. Food Delivery and Curbside Pickup Options

Like the retail industry, the restaurant industry needed to adjust to strict social distancing and shutdown guidelines. In order to stay afloat in an infrastructure that did not allow any indoor seating or enforcing strictly limited seating, restaurants needed to offer patrons other options for service like takeout and online ordering. 

With the success of delivery and curbside pickup for restaurants, as well as outdoor dining, this restaurant industry trend is poised to stick around through 2021 and beyond. Not offering these options to patrons will put restaurants at a severe competitive disadvantage, especially in the near future since much of the populace still prefers to remain socially distant.

2. A Larger Focus on Brand Messaging

Consumers today want more from the brands they choose to give their business to with memorable, positive experiences while also being very focused on what a brand stands for. In the past, restaurants didn’t need to focus so much on a brand story or message. However, as the industry continues to evolve, a strong brand message that resonates with consumers will set one restaurant apart from another, and could make a significant difference in patronage. Overall, developing your brand serves to fine-tune and deliver a better customer experience, which will help to drive long-term growth. 

3. Cleanliness

A clean restaurant was always a decisive factor in a customer’s choice, but in the wake of coronavirus, a heightened awareness of cleanliness is prevalent in everyone’s mind. Patrons will watch to see how much effort restaurant staff put into cleaning tables and other areas of the restaurant as customers come and go. The cleanliness score will no doubt be examined with more scrutiny than ever before.

4. Digital Menus

Online brands that have adopted the omnichannel consumer experience have seen a large increase in website traffic and sales. Restaurateurs that offer dine-in consumers more options to order food will appeal to consumers and also provide convenience in the form of both a seamless experience and contactless ordering. Digital ordering enables consumers to easily and quickly order food from any location, using any device.

This type of convenience is a necessary feature that restaurants must adopt if they wish to remain competitive. It also offers several benefits to both the restaurant owner and the customers that include increasing revenue, improving the accuracy of orders, improving online visibility, and collecting customer data.  All of these initiatives will enable you to provide a more personalized experience to returning customers.

5. Contactless Payments

To better cater to a large and ever-growing populace of health and safety-conscious people, many restaurants adopted contactless payment methods during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that consumers have realized that it is not only a safer means of payment and incredibly convenient, this restaurant industry trend is likely to stick around for quite some time.

In fact, nearly 75 percent of consumers will seek to use contactless payments after Covid. Contactless payments were already the norm in many other countries long before the pandemic. It only makes sense that it would not be just a passing trend, but rather a new norm because of emerging technologies.

If you haven’t yet initiated contactless payments in your dining room, or you are seeking to change merchant providers, NMA is offering retail businesses 3 months of free processing and a free contactless terminal to help you get revved up for a prosperous year.

6. Pop-ups, Food Trucks, and Collaborations

Mobile food trucks and pop-up restaurants have become increasingly popular. They appeal to both the customer and the restaurateur who wishes to try out new concepts at a fraction of the expense of opening a new establishment. Food trucks have obviously been around for quite a long time, but in recent years they have gained new momentum. Many towns and cities hold major food truck rodeos throughout the year and being outdoors can make customers feel more comfortable.

Collaborations are also on the rise that include food halls that are opening in cities all across the United States. The collaboration space allows several chefs to present their menu and dishes in a large, shared space with others at a fraction of the expense of running a full restaurant. These restaurant industry trends not only benefit your bottom line but are also becoming quite luxurious, offering food and dining experiences far beyond what used to be the norm for this type of fare.

Using Trends in the Future of the Restaurant Industry to Increase Business in 2021

If you already own a restaurant or are planning to open one soon, you’ll definitely want to keep some of these restaurant industry trends in mind. In a competitive foodservice marketplace and the uncertain environment of Covid-19 still lingering, a restaurant needs every competitive edge it can get in order to remain successful.

To get started adapting to some of these new restaurant industry trends, consider switching to NMA as your credit card merchant services provider. Offering more than just contactless payment terminals, NMA is dedicated to ensuring the success of each and every client. Serving independent businesses around the nation, NMA is a merchant account provider that Works For You®.

For more information about NMA, contact us today. We can help you to get started with a credit card merchant services provider that does more for you. Once you become associated with NMA, you’ll truly understand the value of membership.