The competition for customers has never been more fierce. The unrelenting pressures for operators to capture the loyalty and trust of guests continues to grow as their customers demand new levels of engagement.

Where does this engagement start? For one, restaurant owners are implementing new technologies to help improve overall business operations and most importantly, modernize the guest experience. More guests of all ages are demanding technology in order to improve their time dining in the restaurant and to gain control of their dining pace.

Going digital can drastically improve your restaurant, but selecting a technology provider that is going to seamless integrate with the rest of your technology infrastructure can be daunting. However, in order to stay relevant, restaurants must implement technology that is going to help boost guest engagement. In fact, Hospitality Technology’s 2017 Restaurant Technology Study points to an increase in consumer and operator demand for guest engagement and payment technology. Here are a few highlights from the study:

» 64% of operators plan to increase their CRM/Loyalty, Digital and Mobility Software spending in 2017
» 61% of operators agreed that improving digital customer engagement and loyalty is going to be the focus for innovation in 2017
» 75% of innovative restaurant companies will focus on mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Android Pay
» 3 out of 5 diners want to use mobile wallets and more than half (56%) say the ability to use it would actually influence restaurant selection

Just doing the bare minimum is no longer going to cut it anymore in order to survive and thrive as a restaurant business. Pay-at-table technology, such as E la Carte’s PrestoPrime™ EMV System, provides everything your guests (especially Millennials) are looking for – from being able to easily order food, to playing games while they wait, to conveniently paying for their meals via different flexible payment platforms, including mobile and contactless forms of payment. Restaurant operators can also optimize their FOH staff by increasing server-to-table ratio, all while offering a high quality of guest service and engagement. Going digital is becoming an absolute necessity to keep customers coming through your door and your operations running smoothly.