These days, you can use your smart phone for virtually anything, including booking your next vacation, buying clothes from your favorite boutique and making reservations at the best restaurant in town. But, did you also know that your mobile device can also be used to order your next meal? A recent report revealed that more people than ever are using this type of technology to place online orders for pickup and delivery.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and media platform Viggle reported that 69 percent of consumers who were asked said they have placed food orders using their smartphone or tablet. Fifty percent of those polled have at least one ”multi-restaurant” application on their phone. Yelp is the most popular, followed by Urbanspoon and Zagat. Furthermore, 44 percent of people surveyed use these devices to find restaurant phone numbers on a regular basis, 39 percent do so to look at menus, and 38 percent use this technology to find the location of an eatery.
Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Marketing at the IAB, said, ”This research highlights the fact that the mobile internet is increasingly becoming a vital tool to help consumers navigate their everyday lives – even when it comes to simple tasks such as ordering a pizza. Restaurant and fast-food chain marketers should pay close attention to this trend and take advantage of the opportunities that mobile offers, making it a key part of their ad-buying strategy.”
Restaurants should take this information into account when planning mobile campaigns. Because of the increasing amount of consumers who use their cell phones to place food orders, as a manager, you should make sure that you offer your customers a friendly mobile experience. To learn more about how a mobile strategy can increase your business, consider contacting a local online marketing agency that specializes in this area, like Key Media Solutions.