With the reopening of restaurants and pubs, diners are excitedly heading out and booking tables to eat and drink with family and friends.

With the hospitality sector showing signs of returning to normal, many businesses may be wondering if they still need to offer online ordering options for customers.

Online sales increased more than threefold since the first lockdown, with the online food ordering segment worth $6.543 million in 2020. The changes restaurants put in place to enabled consumers to continue enjoying meals from their favourite restaurants and pubs with the ease of ordering from home.To do this, vast numbers of businesses invested in the right software and technology to make this a straightforward and enjoyable experience for customers.

And, according to research, the trend of ordering online from their favourite restaurant are here to stay.

Ordering food online has rocketed in the last 12 months, but with people allowed to eat out again, does that mean demand for online ordering will go down?

Trends are showing that there is - and still will be - a demand to order online.

So, if you’re a business owner reconsidering offering take-aways or that you don’t need to start, research shows it is still worthwhile offering this to customers.

Here’s a guide to the top reasons online ordering from restaurants and pubs is very much here to stay:

Online restaurant orders predicted to keep rising

Lockdown or not, ordering online in the hospitality sector has risen in the last 5 years and is predicted to continue by more than 7% in 2022, according to research from Statistia.

Online orders were already on the increase before the pandemic and are still rising with food delivery apps and providers available for vendors. The data points out that if not already, it is worthwhile finding a free software that enables new and existing customers to order take-away meals.

Rediscovering Joys of Eating at Home

Through the pandemic and with the hospitality industry completely closed for business, people have had to find new ways of enjoying life at home.

Research shows that, over the last year, families have eaten together more and looked online for ways of treating themselves and replacing a good night out. With new habits forming among households, restaurants providing the option to deliver is one that will continue post-lockdown.

Cautious Mindset

With mask-wearing and social distancing becoming part of everyday habits most of us practice, many people have become very cautious about mixing with others. While being keen to eat out, there is still an awareness of how often to eat out, be among crowds and ordering online provides a good alternative.

Multiple Sources of Income

As a business, it makes sense to provide different ways of generating revenue and income. While sales from premises remain key importance, offering a way for customers to order directly online can also be lucrative. It will also help to reach different customers, including customers who can’t get to your restaurant, those who prefer to eat at home - even tourists or newcomers to the area!

Free Software for Online Orders

Are you paying commission from your online sales with your delivery provider? Looking for a free software that's easy to use for you and your customers?

TastyIgniter is a free software you can easily download and incorporate into your website for easy ordering. Reach more customers and enable an easy-to-use process for customers who want a tasty meal and a night in.

For more info, check out the features at: https://tastyigniter.com/features