PRLA Restaurant & Lodging Matters Summer 2020

4 New App Modifications & New Technology Although we are only weeks into the COVID crisis we are already seeing some operators using technology to address the situation. One of the fastest tech fixes has been updating apps and websites to communicate with consumers. In some cases, we have also seen new functionality around ordering, pickup, delivery and community support. But these are only the quick fixes and barely scratch the surface of what post-COVID technology can assist with. Over the past decade there has been an explosion of new technology for restaurants from ordering, to production, to inventory, to staff scheduling. Looking forward we expect tech companies to play a key role in helping operators manage the challenges of safety, sanitization, distancing, and no-touch. LOOKING FORWARD: Implications New app functionality. We can expect to see a flurry of new app functionality to help consumers research and track their new post-COVID foodservice buying criteria, from sanitization and no-touch protocols, to curbside delivery, to menu bundling services, to foodservice grocery shopping options and community support programs. For employees, we can expect new sanitization and food handling training functionality and heath and sick-day trackers. Self-serve ordering terminals. We live in a touch-screen world. In the short-term, consumers will likely continue to wear gloves or use a napkin or their sleeve at order touchscreens or self-service drink dispensers, but in the long-term there will need to be a no-touch solution. We expect new technology such as facial recognition and voice-driven solutions to be eventually adopted. Consumer order tracking. Our collective obsession with tracking orders will be amplified by our new compulsion to know who has touched our food. We can expect to see Amazon-like tracking come to foodservice delivery and curb-side orders along with video of our food being prepared. Consumers will want more. Order tracking communication will be more common, detailed, and required. Sanitization tracking. Consumer’s appetites for information on an operator’s sanitization practices will be greater than expected. Accessibility to data about what operators are doing related to sanitization and safety will become a necessity. Tools to track this data and communicate to consumers via apps, websites, and in-restaurant trackers will become commonplace. Simple cues to show consumers that they are safe, like table tent that reads “this table has been sanitized” will become expected and appreciated. • To be continued in the fall... 22 •  PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters  •  Summer 2020