Technology transformed how bars and restaurants operate during and post-pandemic, amid crippling nationwide shutdowns. Tackling new challenges of social distancing measures, plus revenue drops, while still increasing efficiency and reducing staffing costs has proved to be difficult. Many bar owners and restaurant managers have sought support from smartphone apps and online ordering systems. These technologies help to focus and streamline operations, particularly as they surround bars, pubs, wineries, and breweries. However, there are a myriad of apps and programs to choose from to begin implementing into a bar business. Here’s some information on a free app for ordering drinks at bars.
Bars Post-Pandemic
The U.S. restaurant and bar industry witnessed catastrophic losses from the world-wide coronavirus pandemic, necessitating innovations in takeout, carry-out cocktails, expansion and other contactless technology. Trends that weren’t supposed to take hold for years have occurred at an accelerated rate.
Newer innovations suggest that bars are increasingly in need of newer software systems that address inefficiencies, highlighted when establishments throughout the country were ordered closed. In order to keep up, there are specific technological trends that are more in demand than ever before including:
- Touchscreen Point of Sale terminals
- Order and Pay at the table
- Handheld Point of Sale Systems
- Contactless Payments
- Self-order Kiosks
- Kitchen Display Screens
More than those listed, however, are the more basic, simple solutions that allow customers to order with ease and convenience. Online ordering, certainly, has drastically changed efficiencies for restaurants and bars alike.
Integrated Online Ordering Systems for Bars
Even before the COVID-19 crisis hit, online ordering and off-premise dining sales were not a rarity within the restaurant business. Now, in the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, many bars rely on off-premise dining such as takeout and delivery to keep businesses alive and even thriving.
More recently, The Guide to the Restaurant Guest During COVID-19, offers insights on what the restaurant and bar-industry should expect after devastating losses from the virus outbreak.
In the report, a segment of guests shared that they would be ordering takeout and delivery more than they were prior to the COVID-19 health crisis. For example, 27% of guests reported that they would be ordering takeout more. Additionally, 23% of guests reported that they would be ordering delivery more. And 20% of guests reported that they would be dining out at restaurants significantly less.
With the research to back it up, we can safely say that off-premise is here to stay and will remain a crucial part of restaurants’ strategies moving forward.
While third-party ordering and delivery services – like DoorDash and Uber Eats – have become staples for off-premise dining. Further, an integrated online ordering solution allows guests to more easily order directly from a restaurant for contactless delivery.
The benefits of an integrated online ordering solution speak for themselves, but guests also prefer to place online orders directly with restaurants. According to The Guide to the Restaurant Guest During COVID-19, 82% of guests place orders directly through a restaurant’s app or website once a month.
How Do Smartphone Apps Factor In?
Aside from the usual online ordering systems, newer innovations in the form of smartphone applications, or simply apps, are also changing how patrons order drinks from bars.
How is a mobile app different from an online ordering system? For one, a mobile app remains on the user’s smartphone and is, therefore, ideal for frequent and repeated use. In terms of a free app for ordering drinks at bars, it’s in the best interest of establishments to seek technologies that keep customers engaged with any of the following:
- Promotional offerings
- New featured drinks
- Drink specials
- Fresh ingredients
With specials planned out, bars can then spread the word via social media and with basic marketing tactics. But nothing compares to the promotions featured through a smartphone app. Bar smartphone apps can make it easy to send out real-time push notifications that help promote new cocktails, beers, wine, and other beverages. This is a great bar marketing strategy that is easy to execute because you’re simply adding to your existing menu or reinventing an item that you already serve, making it a low-risk tactic.
Free App for Ordering Drinks at Bars
The newest technology to transform how bars do business comes in the form of a smartphone app. Gloworder solves a frequent problem that many bars across the country experience: how to make it easy for bartenders to receive, create, and serve the best, premium drinks that increase bar revenue without reducing efficiencies.
Technology for Seamless Ordering
A few bars are creating a different environment built entirely on a self-service model. These establishments allow patrons to pour their own beers, mix their own flavored cocktails, and more. It certainly helps with efficiency and flow, but more importantly, does it address the issues that came to the forefront with coronavirus?
Mobile check out options are now vital systems for a bar’s success. Mobile checkouts provide convenience and contact-less methods to avoid exchange of cash or cards. However, mobile websites can still pose some obstacles like managing QR codes and maintaining websites ongoing.
Certainly, the pandemic impacted bars in numerous ways. It also brought a long-standing issue to light that technology seems uniquely capable of addressing. Improving average wait times for drinks seems like a no-brainer, but surprisingly it’s a characteristic that bars have been slow to adopt. Gloworder addresses this from two perspectives: wait times in consideration of the bar patron and wait times for bartenders desperate to turnover more tabs, especially when a busy night yields higher returns. Bar owners: want to learn more?
Sign up on our waitlist to find out more about our upcoming Gloworder app launch!