5 benefits of having a mobile ordering system vs restaurant app

Restaurant Apps are a hot topic in hospitality at the moment. Post-COVID, they have enabled many businesses to open safely, by minimising contact between servers and customers and helping enforce social distancing. On top of this they have minimised menu contact, helped restaurants operate delivery and pick ups, and ensured that payment safety has been top of the agenda throughout.

There are huge benefits of a restaurant app, however they can be costly for businesses to create. Unless your venue is highly profitable, creating your own individual app is probably not going to be an option. That’s where a mobile ordering system like Yoello comes in to ensure that restaurants, bars and cafes get all the benefits of having their own restaurant app without having to build one.

We’re looking at the top benefits of mobile ordering solutions vs restaurant apps so that you know what to look for when partnering with a mobile ordering provider.

Why is a mobile ordering system better than a restaurant app?

1. Customers don’t actually have to download an app

Many people confuse a mobile ordering system with a restaurant app, when in fact you don’t need an app to make safe mobile ordering happen at your venue. Building a restaurant app would cost a small fortune, and probably be less effective than a mobile ordering system that pops up on a customer's phone, like Yoello.

Using a platform that is similar to a restaurant app and offers all of the same mobile ordering benefits can be an amazing option. Yoello works by offering an online system that a customer can use on any device, this means that they don’t need to download an app to access app-like features. The result? More people using mobile ordering in your venue, without having to go through the hassle of downloading a restaurant app.

2. Increased spend per head

One of the amazing benefits of this style of online ordering is that by showcasing all of the food and drink options available, people often order more. Plus, without the judgement of those around them, or the fear of having to split the bill, people feel a lot more free to order what they actually want. 

Customers spend on average 30% more through Yoello, possibly because they feel more comfortable ordering online, but also because you can promote extras, bulk discounts and promotions which encourage people to spend.

As such, mobile ordering systems offer much better ROI vs restaurant apps. While a restaurant-specific app has huge costs to create and run, a mobile ordering solution provides venues with a cost-effective system with affordable transaction fees, with credit, debit, Google or Apple Pay all available at a fixed % rate. 

3. An easy to manage ordering system

When you invest in an ordering system like Yoello to replace a restaurant app, you benefit from software that is tried and tested by plenty of other businesses before yours. This means that the dashboard and ordering system is fine tuned to bring orders straight into your kitchen and be managed with ease. Forget the teething issues and maintenance costs that come with creating your own app, with an online ordering system you’re fully supported by the company’s tech team.

Plus, with an online ordering system, you can receive, process and manage customer orders from the dashboard, tracking customer orders as they come in. You can also cancel orders and issue refunds straight away, making the whole process very simple. 

4. All the data benefits of an app

Restaurant apps are often praised for the way that they utilise data and allow businesses to learn more about their customers. However, many venues don’t realise that you can also access all of these data benefits with a mobile ordering system that doesn’t require an app download.

Mobile ordering systems like Yoello provide data that can help aid business decisions as well as provide managers with a better overview of how their venues are performing on any given day. Plus, with downloadable reports, you’ll be able to track and manage changes over time and share these insights with other areas of the business.

5. Customise your venue profile 

The key benefit of a restaurant app is that it can be highly specific to your venue. But don’t let that put you off a mobile ordering system. Instead of creating an app that is specific to your venue, with mobile ordering you can customise menus, marketing, special deals and much more to make the ordering system your own.

When your customers access Yoello on their browser, they will feel as though they are connecting with your business directly as opposed to going through a third party. With a unique customised profile, the look and feel of the mobile ordering process is in your hands.

Still need convincing that a mobile ordering platform is a better bet than investing in your own restaurant app? Take a look at all of the amazing features that come with Yoello. Plus, check out the benefits of a mobile ordering system over on our blog for more information.