Are restaurants eyeing wearable as an alternative to cashless payment

Nobody ever thought that food and eating out would become a techie’s fever in days to come. Even the gadget giant Apple would not have dreamt that its largest traffic would come through food orders before launching its Apple watches and I-pads. But surprisingly with technology pinpointing the daily needs of a modern consumer, apple watches, smart watches and ipads have mushroomed in restaurant business, thanks to players like Domino’s, Starbucks and McDonald’s amongst others who have again set a trend by taking orders before a person reaches its table and via i-watches to a place wherever he wants to. The biggest benefit that smart watches gave its customers was the payments and the ease to communicate to the staff without taking out your wallets or punching your e-cards at the restaurants. And, this doesn’t end at watches and other carried gadgets, according to a report published in QSRweb.com everything from rings to jackets is being embedded with contactless payment technology. Current estimates put wearable payment volume at $501 billion by 2020.

"The hotel is equipped to handle changes and have always welcomed Innovation that will benefit our guests. Booking rooms through Mobile applications and key less entry to the rooms are classic examples. However we do not encourage PayTM or any other e transfers as most of our payments are still coming through Credit & Debit Cards only. Having said that, we still wait to hear more on the Apple Watch development and payment options and will always prioritize our guests’ convenience," shares Sachin Didolkar , Director of Business Development, Conrad Pune.

It’s more than just a wearable

Though payment is the major concern when one eat out at a restaurant. But, these gadgets have given other choices to its customers when dining at their favourite restaurants. Burger King the global leader in burger and finger food to enhance customer experience and bring them closer to their dietary habits has launched whopper scented fragrance in Japan for people who have always wished to smell like a burger. This doesn’t end here the burger chain was also in news way back in 2015 to come up with their line of apparels. “Wearable hold a better future in the restaurant industry as on one end they provide customers with easy cashless or swipe less transactions, on the other end they increase the overall efficiency of the restaurant by synchronising relevant activities,” says Parvesh Singh, Co Founder , A Grill Company.

Walking on the same line, Starbucks has joined hand with clothing designer Beams to offer a leather-clad fob for fashion. Named as ‘Touch The Drip’ Starbucks fashionable customers can pay through the key which has got a special feature where by simply touching the leather surface on the contactless payment reader in-store.

Bringing an ease to ordering

Your service area is not the only place where people go for a brand. It’s all about the overall experience that boosts the business. These tech trends can help effective management of the restaurant, door to door services, table experience enhancement with a satisfied guest to look out for. Getting food and drinks out to customers quickly is an important component of excellent customer service. A drink that gets watered-down from sitting too long at the bar or a lukewarm steak can ruin a meal. In early 2016 pizza brand announced ordering via Cupertino’s smartwatch operating system. People can order food with a quick tap on their Apple Watch. This made Domino’s the first pizza company in America to offer ordering via Apple watch. To use the service, customers must have a regular East Order saved in their Domino's "Pizza Profile" — Pizza Profiles; what a time to be alive. Once an order is placed, it can be tracked from store to door with the company's GPS tracker.

Earlier in 2015 McDonald’s joined hands with MasterCard to introduce innovative electronic payment solutions at their restaurants in UAE and across other key markets in the Middle East and Africa. The global giants are continuing to do such innovation is to meet the demand of their new age customers and to enhance customer engagement and convenience at their door. “Our alliance with MasterCard comes as part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing our customers’ experience with McDonald’s, providing not only great quality food, but best in class services and solutions too in an inviting and enjoyable environment,” shared Yousif Abdulghani, ‎Vice President& International Relationship Partner at McDonald’s Middle East Development Company during the time of partnership.

Hence, we can say that as consumers continue to demand ways to make purchases whether at the restaurants or ordering a food at the comfort of home, there is an increase in the need of simpler payments, quicker delivery and acceptability of the trend.