American attitude towards restaurant technology

When we Americans eat out there are certain luxuries we've come to expect, and some that we are astonished haven't made it to our favorite dive yet. According to a Forbes report in 2018, One-third of Americans on average eat out every night. OnBuy.com surveyed 1,689 Americans about their attitudes towards restaurant technologies as they exist today. Here’s what they thought.

Most favored restaurant technology

It’s no surprise that self-order kiosks are the most familiar tech to Americans at 80% – most McDonalds and service stations now feature these. This is followed by:

• Ordering food via a mobile app (73%)
   
• At-table food ordering (71%) • Immersive dining experiences (51%)
   
• Digital-electronic bill payments (40%)

A clear priority emerges with the type of tech we want to see. American people desire an easy/convenient experience that also engages them - hence the most desirable tech is at-table food ordering (73%), followed by micro call buttons (66%) and immersive dining (61%).

Closely following are:

• At-table digital feedback services (59%) • At-table food tracking (59%)
   
• Interactive menu experiences (49%) 
   
• Electronic bill payments (45%)

And the least favored restaurant technology

Wait list management software (37%), built-in games while you wait (37%) and facial/fingerprint recognition payments (27%).

A resounding number of respondents expect restauranteurs to implement new technologies – 77% expect it, 18% don’t, and 5% don’t mind.

Not only this, but new tech will evidently attract more custom. 65% of Americans are more intrigued by a restaurant utilizing innovative tech. This is compared to 20% who aren’t, and 15% who say they’re not sure.

Overall, Americans are in favor of new restaurant tech. 71% believe tech will successfully entice customers into visiting. 15% don’t, while 14% are skeptical, explaining it depends on the tech.

Finally, when asked how likely they are to eat at a restaurant featuring these technologies, most believe they will. 28% answered very likely, followed by likely (21%), somewhat likely (15%), unlikely (12%), neither likely nor unlikely (11%), somewhat unlikely (8%) and very unlikely (5%).