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Click and Collect: how can you boost your restaurant's business?

Click and Collect: how can you boost your restaurant's business?

By Emma Gil

Published: 14 November 2024

Are you a restaurant owner looking for a solution to boost your productivity and maximise your sales? Click and Collect is the essential online ordering solution to help you achieve your goals in an increasingly digital environment - even in the restaurant business!

It allows your customers to place an order online and collect it directly when they want, in just a few clicks: select, pay and collect.

So why is this interesting for you? How can you set it up? And above all, how can you maximise its effectiveness? 🔥

Time to eat! We explain it all to you.

Why set up click and collect? 5 benefits for your restaurant

Online ordering has many benefits, not just for customers, but also for catering establishments. ☕

More than 50% of restaurant takeaway orders are now placed online.

Tastycloud

Increase your revenue with Click and Collect

By combining sales in a physical store with e-commerce, you can generate more sales. Firstly, because you reach more customers, and secondly because they are more interested in this new online system and are more encouraged to use it.

This is because customers aren't nervous about ordering in the queue or waiting at the table, so there's no time wasted, either for them or for you 🙂 and you can therefore offer them extras and offers on your click and collect service.

You can increase your average basket by around 20% compared with ordering over the counter.

Partoo

Better manage customer flows in your restaurants and physical shops

Customers only come to your restaurant to pick up their order. You can therefore split your order list in two, which will help you to distribute the flow of customers in your restaurant more evenly.

Differentiate yourself from the competition

A handful of restaurateurs have already added online ordering to their distribution panorama, but few are doing so, especially in traditional restaurants. In fact, it's mainly fast-food chains that use click and collect, but that's not the case for other types of restaurant, so including this service will set you apart from the rest.

So if you see that there are none or few in your town, or not in the same kitchen as yours, this is the solution to set yourself apart with customers! 👀

Improve and personalise customer relations and experience

The Click and Collect service offers an effective way of personalising the customer experience in restaurants. By using it, you, restaurant owners, can not only meet your customers' expectations but also significantly improve their satisfaction and loyalty. How can you do this?

  • Customers appreciate the reduction in waiting times thanks to online pre-ordering and payment, especially at peak times.
  • The system allows customers to personalise their meals according to their dietary preferences and receive personalised offers based on their ordering habits. 🍔
  • At the point of collection, staff can focus on providing a warm welcome and checking customer satisfaction, creating a more engaging and memorable experience.

Making good use of these levers is essential for building customer loyalty, by offering gifts, promotions or creating an emotional closeness with personalised emailing.

Optimising restaurant resources

Click and Collect allows restaurants to better forecast order volumes, which helps them to optimise the use of ingredients and reduce waste. ⚖️

It also helps to adjust staffing requirements according to peak collection times, improving operational efficiency.

How do you set up Click and Collect? The 4 key steps

Step 1: Create and adapt your Click and Collect system

First and foremost, you need to choose and set up your Click and Collect system so that you are visible to your customers and so that they have a medium through which to place their orders. If you don't know how to choose, we'll help you later in this article!

Your online ordering system should include :

  • Appetising photos of your products and dishes. 📸
  • Descriptions of the dishes and their composition, as well as information such as allergens, ingredients and other nutritional values. 📜
  • Suggestions for supplements or offers personalised to customers' tastes, this encourages them to buy more. 🍽
  • A registration form to track your customers, collect data and personalise. 📋
  • A notification system so customers can track their order in real time and pick it up when it's ready. 🔔

Step 2: Organising your restaurant

It's important to think about preparing a dedicated order collection area so you can welcome customers who use click and collect, and give them their order efficiently.

For example, organise an area for the customer who physically orders, and another area for the customer who has placed their order online.

A click and collect area is easily visible on online platforms and physically in the store. ✅

Step 3: Develop specific procedures for your teams

Create precise methods to differentiate between preparing orders in restaurants and those for click and collect:

  • preparation times: make sure you distinguish between preparation times for in-restaurant orders and those for click and collect, optimising workflows and minimising customer waiting times. ⏰
  • their retrieval: Set up separate retrieval areas for in-restaurant and click and collect orders, to facilitate access and reduce confusion among customers and staff. 📤
  • and stock tracking.

In this way, the organisation is clearer, tidier and more efficient for both your employees and your customers.

Step 4: Communicate and promote your Click and Collect service

To maximise the use of online ordering, you need to promote the use of click and collect.

There are various ways of doing this, including traditional and digital communication:

  • Discuss it directly with your customers.
  • Put up posters in the street, in the town, and of course inside and outside your establishment.
  • Publicise it online on your website and your app, and send emails to your customers to let them know about it.
  • Promote it through your social networks by creating publications or on your profile page on your various accounts to maximise your online visibility.

What tools are available for click and collect?

5 criteria for choosing your tool

✨Now that you know why and how to set up a click and collect service for your establishment, here's a list of useful prerequisites for choosing the right tool for your needs.

Integration with your cash register software

Essential for simplifying order management by centralising them all in one place. No need for additional equipment; order transactions are entered directly into your cash register system. What's more, full integration can make the ordering and payment process easier for your customers, providing a smooth and fast experience.

Acceptance of meal vouchers

By accepting meal vouchers, you can ensure that you meet the needs of many customers, particularly those working in office areas, for whom it is easier to order directly online. This is a social benefit appreciated by many French people, and by accepting these means of payment, you increase the likelihood that these customers will choose your establishment for their lunch break. 🍽️

An optimal user experience

This is essential for building customer loyalty and encouraging repeat orders. A simple, intuitive and personalisedinterface makes browsing and ordering easy for all users, whatever their level of familiarity with technology. What's more , mobile compatibility ensures that your customers can order easily from any device, which is essential in a world where more and more people use their smartphones for everything 😉

Effective customer communication

Communication is a key element in promoting your click and collect and attracting new customers. A tool that supports your communication helps you inform your customers effectively about the new online ordering service you're offering. This can include advice on how to promote your service on social networks, by e-mail or on your website.

Reactive technical support

In the event of a technical problem, responsive support is essential to minimise disruption to your customers, especially when ordering online. A responsive technical support team can resolve issues quickly, ensuring a smooth experience for your customers and boosting their confidence in your service. Fast response times and 24/7 availability are signs of quality technical support .

Which click and collect software should you choose for your restaurant?

🌟Here are 5 significant benefits for restaurants:

  • Increased customer reach: Allows customers to order remotely, expanding your potential market beyond in-store visitors.
  • Improved operational efficiency: Reduces waiting time for customers and optimises kitchen workflow through automated order management.
  • Reduce ordering errors: Minimise human error by automating the order-taking process, ensuring greater customer satisfaction.
  • Customer data collection: Provides analytical tools to track customer preferences and consumption patterns, which can help personalise offers and improve marketing.
  • Increased flexibility: Allows customers to choose when to collect their order, offering greater flexibility and convenience.

🥇Finding software that includes these criteria and benefits is possible, and we'll give you an example.

Addition is a cash register specially developed for CHR professionals, offering numerous additional services designed to optimise different stages of their business (reservations, cash collection, reporting, etc.). These include functions dedicated to Click and Collect management: personalisation of your Click and Collect space, automatic acceptance of new orders, dispatch to the kitchen, etc. Last but not least, this software will support you effectively as you roll out this new way of consuming, which promises to boost your sales.

🛠️ To explore more options and details about these tools, feel free to consult our directory of restaurant management software!

Other online ordering applications for restaurants include Tastycloud and Click Eat.

Restaurant Click and Collect: the complete solution

In the final analysis, Click and Collect is the perfect complement to your range of services, helping to increase the flow of customers, enhance the customer experience and emotional closeness and, as a bonus, boost your bills.

It's essential that you put in place functional steps and tools to maximise your restaurant's revenue.

💫 Finally, to inspire you in your Click and Collect creation process, I would say to you: the size of a restaurant is not measured by its physical size but by its qualitative value.

Article translated from French

Emma Gil

Emma Gil,

Emma is passionate about communications and digital and operational marketing. This is what led her to study Applied Foreign Languages - Trilingual Digital Communication and International Business at the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC).
French with Madrid roots, she speaks French, Spanish and English, and also has a basic knowledge of German, Italian, Portuguese and soon Korean.

She loves traveling, discovering new cultures, eating, watching series, and playing music like the guitar. 🎼 Emma also attaches great importance to fighting for various causes, such as animal welfare and climate change. 🍃