The restaurant industry is and always has been a very competitive industry. Approximately 6 in 10 restaurants fail within the first year and nearly 8 in 10 restaurants are out of business within the first 5 years, and the year 2020 did not make things better.
While food and beverage retailers have been slow to move online, many are starting to shake up the industry with outstanding ecommerce sites that attract and convert online shoppers.
Turn your existing website into an eCommerce platform
If your restaurant already has a website, it is a great investment to transform your website into an eCommerce platform. Think of it as opening a second location. Just as you have the ability to customize the decoration, the layout, and the kitchen production line, transforming your website into an eCommerce platform is like opening a new location but online.
Pros:
Highly customizable.
Unique to your branding.
Analytic information available
Cons:
Higher implementation investment.
Having your own website for your restaurant is the most ideal way of putting your business online. Not only do you get to pick and choose all the details of your website, but you also have the flexibility to do all kinds of marketing and promotions as you wish.
Add a new menu item, doing a promotion for this weekend, hosting a cooking show and cross sell products, having a reward points system, and event manage your inventory. All these can be done on your own website. The flexibility of having your own website is significantly higher than the other options.
The only downside is that it requires more investment upfront. However, by having your own website, you are no longer limited by the food items on your menu. Many restaurants, in order to increase revenue and sales, are also moving into meal prep, frozen food and many other options. These new items or a subdivision of your menu can be easily implemented if you have your own eCommerce website.
How to increase your sales with your eCommerce platform
Having an online presence is the first step. There are plenty of different marketing strategies you can apply to your restaurant to increase your sales. There are two major categories of how to utilize eCommerce platforms to boost your revenue.
Online Loyalty program – collect reward points when spending money online.
Limited time coupon – buy 3 items and get the 4th one free right now!
Email campaign – custom promo code for existing customers.
Whether it is giving free desserts to members on their birthdays, or let customers collect points to redeem for food, all these provide incentives for customers to come back. With the current situation, physical stamp cards or membership cards are not the best options. All these can be done on your own website.