Restaurants Deliver Mobile Offers to Drive Engagement

Written by: Joe Pappalardo

Technology has the potential to have a huge impact on the restaurant industry. Two of the current top trends include mobile apps and mobile payment.

However, a potential obstacle in successfully implementing a mobile app or payment solution is the amount of resources they require to build and maintain. A relatively easy-to-deploy and complimentary technology that has tremendous value to restaurateurs is mobile offers.

Specifically, mobile offers and mobile coupons are proven to drive mobile app downloads, engagement and in-app conversions when delivered to a mobile app. In addition, the ability to redeem mobile offers lets restaurateurs track the entire purchase process providing insight into how mobile users shop.

Following are some recent industry statistics supporting the strategy that mobile offers should be a part of a restaurant’s mobile roadmap.

Earlier this year, the National Restaurant Association published its 2015 Restaurant Industry Forecast. According to the report, restaurant and food service sales are projected to reach $709 billion in 2015, up 3.8% from 2014.

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As cited in a recent study by Open Table, the most common use technology is to make a reservation followed by determining a restaurant’s location and reviewing their menu. As more people choose to dine in restaurants this year, it will be important that restaurants ensure that they have a mobile presence making them easier to find.

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With respect to offers, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) found that 8 out of 10 consumers say they would dine at a restaurant during off peak times if a discount was available to them.

According to a report published last year by Sullivan Higson & Sink, 12% of consumers have used a mobile offer at a restaurant. In comparison, 35% of consumers look for coupons and specials with 47% of moms looking for specials or coupons online.

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In support of findings from the NRA study, the Sullivan Higson & Sink report found that mobile offers are the number one item consumers would like to receive from restaurants.

restaurants deliver mobile offers 4 Depending on a restaurant’s mobile strategy, mobile offers and mobile coupons can be delivered in a number of ways including promotion text messages that can be saved as mobile web pages or Passes in Passbook as well as sent directly to a restaurants mobile app. The mobile app is especially convenient for restaurateurs that deliver a variety of offers to their customers as the mobile app provides a central location for consumers to easily access and redeem their offers.

Additional research from the National Restaurant Association, Technology Innovations Consumer Survey, stated “A significant number [of consumers] use their smartphones to interact with restaurants on a regular basis, such as ordering delivery, redeeming rewards and paying for meals.”

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Restaurants deliver mobile offers and mobile coupons to consumers and are able to drive traffic to locations and increase order size. In a recent CodeBroker ROI study, retailers realized anywhere from 3-25% redemption rates directly impacting the bottom line. One retailer stated “If we’re having a slow month, the CodeBroker platform is our CEO’s go-to choice to get our numbers back on track.”