Restaurant And Hospitality IT News For VARs — May 28, 2014
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In the news this week, experts explain why not to pattern your client’s app after Starbucks and why to carefully consider how consumers react with each screen in a multi-screen marketing approach. Also, reports show the global foodservice industry saw an increase in sales over 2013, and the National Restaurant Association is projecting about a half-million jobs added to the industry this summer.
3 Reasons Why The Starbucks App Isn’t Right For Your Restaurant Customer
This insightful analysis from Fast Casual suggests that although Starbucks often serves as the model for other restaurants, when it comes to mobile payment, it might not be the best example. A different path, guided by careful consideration of business strategy and fundamentals, might be more successful, for three important reasons: consumers at your customers’ restaurants do not visit as frequently; mobile payment only has value with added value; and most important to consumers is faster, more accurate, and more personal attention.
New Book Offers Advice For Multiscreen Marketing
Two Microsoft executives, Natasha Hritzuk and Kelly Jones, have published a book offering insight on how consumers are interacting with brands across multiple screens. Titled Multi-screen Marketing: The Seven Things You Need to Know to Reach Your Customers across TVs, Computers, Tablets and Mobile Phones, The book encourages marketers to embrace a more holistic multi-screen marketing approach, and argues that in order to define the right multi-screen strategy, marketers must first understand the relationship consumers have with each screen and which content to leverage within their campaigns.
Global Foodservice Sales Increase
New research from Euromonitor International Global reveals that consumer foodservice value saw $2.6 trillion dollars in sales, an increase of more than 4.6 percent in 2013. The Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific led compound annual growth from 2008-2013 with 10.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, while all regions saw growth over this period except for Western Europe, which saw a decline of 1.4 percent, according to qsr.web.
NRA Projects A Half-Million New Restaurant Industry Jobs
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) has released new projections that 508,000 new jobs will be added to the restaurant industry this summer. This would mark the second consecutive year in which restaurants added at least half a million jobs during the season, according to qsr.web.
Restaurant and Hospitality IT Talking Points
Official World Cup sponsor McDonald's is launching a huge global effort that features new fry boxes that allow you to play and an augmented-reality app called McDonald's Gol! The newly designed fry boxes sport 12 different World-Cup-themed designs, and will also serve as the entry point for an augmented-reality game on the app. Once they download the app, customers can begin playing the game by holding the screen of their mobile device up to the front of the box, according to the press release, and the device and app will recognize the artwork and prompt the game, thus connecting the physical product to the app.
In an effort to better connect with its customers, Tim Hortons’ TimmyMe App now includes support for Passbook, allowing guests to access their Tim Card from the home screen on their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The new technology, available on iOS, Android and BlackBerry 10, is designed to improve speed of service and enhance the guest experience, according to a press release.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Hospitality Tech Center.