?? Restaurant Tech Horoscope

Is this eclipse business like the Super Bowl for astrology fans? Good news, if you didn't stare at the sun too long you can still catch up on all of the digital and off-premise updates from this past week. You don't need a horoscope to know what technology restaurants are embracing. Check out some notable headlines below.

?? Tech Survey Says - NRN put together a great restaurant study. It provides an overview of where restaurants feel like they need more technology, where they don't and much more. You can download the study and check out their upcoming webinar - Link?(shout out Mark Brandau )

Why it Matters:? There are more tech providers now than ever for restaurants, meaning it's harder to stand out but also forcing restaurants to be more cautious when investing in their tech stack, ROI is crucial.

?? Chipotle Invests in Gamers?- Chipotle is rolling out a big digital push to coincide with the launch of Tekken 8. This includes a new digitally exclusive menu item and their sponsorship of an e-sports tournament? ?-?Link

Why it Matters: No other restaurant brand?meets GenZ where they're at like Chipotle.? These new digital strategies are perfect for the generation most likely to order delivery and play video games. Is there room for other brands to target gamers? It seems like it.

?? Florida 3PD Law - a new bill proposed by Ron Desantis allows 3PD's to retain customer data without sharing it with the?restaurant, it also allows restaurants to remain unlisted from DSP's unless they specifically request to be listed. DSP's must de-list within 10 days if a restaurant makes that request. This law firm did a great job breaking this down - Link

Why it Matters:? More communication/clarity seems to be the emphasis and empowering restaurants?to make their own decisions?in terms of controlling pricing and listing. We will probably see more legislation like this, which does include penalties of up to $1000 per offense.

?? Shuttered ASAP?- the third party delivery platform, formerly known as Waitr has declared bankruptcy.? ?-?Link

Why it Matters: In the wild wild west of delivery spaces will we see more of this? Probably not in the near term but in any maturing field there will always be consolidation and more acquisitions.

?? Eyes on Deals - Shake Shack going directly after Chick-fil-A with a digital Sunday promo (link), BOGO burritos for Fuzzy's loyalty (link), 7-11 incenting their first-party app with eclipse themed pizza deals (link), free Frosty with any in-app purchase for Wendy's (link) - and KFC laying down deals both digitally and in-store (link)

Why It Matters: At first we saw digital dealsprimarily for customer acquisition, related to loyalty platforms and first party apps (get them in). Now these deals are ways to generate traffic where it may have been eroding. We said it a few weeks ago but the value wars have been back for awhile.

Upcoming Conferences

Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit: March 24 - 26 - how was it?

Restaurant Leadership Conference: April 14 - 17 in Phoenix (Link)

Food on Demand: May 8 - 10 in Las Vegas (Link)

Feedback

Do you have questions, theories, rants, raves, complaints, or slam poetry to share? I love to chat all things delivery and digital restaurants so if you need to vent or want to learn more feel free to reach out [email protected]; here's a link to my calendar

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