At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, QR codes became an answer for many business owners to enforce safe dining, social distancing, and contactless payment scheme.
Before we dig deeper into its benefits, let us define what a QR code is and how it works.
QR codes or quick response codes are two-dimensional codes that consist of information.
The most common form of a QR code consists of black squares arranged in a square grid on a white background. These squares have encodings that will store data information. However, there different ways to design a QR code.
To access the information embedded in a QR code, you just have to point your smartphone toward the QR code. Once scanned, you will be able to access the information. It can point you to the restaurant’s website or mobile app, digital menu, ordering page, or payment page.
There are basically two types of QR codes:
Static QR codes can be generated for free but you cannot edit the information once you created it and it doesn’t allow you to track the traffic.
Dynamic QR codes give you those additional benefits, the ability to edit information and track data. The downside is that you need to pay a certain fee to generate dynamic QR codes.
And as a restaurant owner, you might be thinking about how it can be beneficial for me and help boosting sales:
1. Lowers printing costs and eliminates menu sharing
Gone are the days when restaurant owners need to spend a lot of money on the layout and printing of the restaurant menu and make it attractive for patrons.
Nowadays, restaurant owners can just create a dedicated page that would help both offline and online customers to see their menu items.
Restaurants can simply put these QR codes on their door, menu tables, and website so customers can easily scan these codes to see the menu items in detail especially when there’s a need to share the menu book.
It can also make restaurants be more environmentally friendly and it can limit the spread of communicable diseases.
2. Increase the average order value
Since customers tend to purchase more virtually, a QR code is a great way to increase the average order value. This is a great way to offer additional items that could be hard to sell when one is in front of the customer.
When customers are virtually scanning your digital menu, you can incorporate marketing strategies like offering them related items or offering premium items from your menu, thus, increasing the total sales per order.
3. Create personalized discounts and promotions
Since the QR code can help you to track and understand the data, you can create personalized discounts and promotions for your customers that can help increase revenue.
QR codes can also help you to determine how well your marketing efforts and it can also be a great way for you to know where to optimally put your call-to-action (CTA) button that would likely get more clicks by the customer.
4. Provides for safe and secure transactions
With the help of QR codes, your guests can complete their transactions and pay their bills right away without the need to wait for the next available waiter.
They can use their Apple/Google Pay, mobile wallets, credit or debit cards, and even add tips for their servers. This also eliminates fraud or even worrying about cash shortages making all payment transactions safe and secure.
5. Address staffing shortage
With the massive need for additional restaurant staff, QR codes can help solve this issue. QR codes can streamline the process of taking orders and bills payment which is beneficial for business owners looking to add staff to their restaurants to perform such duties.
A streamlined process can leave customers highly satisfied which could towards tipping more.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, QR codes are here to stay. They are a great way for restaurant owners to become more efficient by streamlining business processes and addressing staffing issues.
You can speak to one of our DevourNow agents to incorporate QR codes into your ongoing strategies to increase revenue.