If you’re a restaurant operator, it’s time to truly embrace the term “phygital.” As 2025 approaches, merging physical and digital experiences appears to be a prerequisite for winning over many consumers.
“I talk to a lot of operators, and I tell them your competition isn’t necessarily the restaurant down the street. Your competition is Netflix and Amazon and Uber, and all the other digital experiences and how they’re personalizing,” said Hope Neiman, CMO of Tillster, a company focused on unified commerce solutions for restaurant chains.
In the new year, Neiman added, an increasing number of restaurant customers will come to expect personalized touches – even when interacting with a restaurant primarily through digital means. The industry expert has noticed, for example, that some QSRs have begun leaving messages on carryout bags, noting a customer’s name, thanking them for their business, and encouraging them to return.
That, Neiman noted, is an example of “bringing a physical presence even into the digital ordering experience. That’s the kind of aspect that’s important – knowing things about me that are meaningful. … I shouldn’t have to tell you and repeat (my preferences). You have to meet me where I am.”
Here’s a look at Neiman’s other noteworthy predictions for restaurant chains in 2025.
Kiosks Proliferate
Neiman’s research has revealed a noteworthy trend: most customers – even the elderly – like ordering from kiosks at QSRs. The reasons: using kiosks lessens the likelihood of interacting with antisocial teen employees, they allow customers to take their time when ordering, and … machines don’t judge a customer for supersizing their fries or ordering an extra dessert.
Also, when using kiosks, many restaurant customers “are exploring, and they’re finding things they never knew were available – ‘Oh, I didn’t know I could put guacamole on this,’” the Tillster executive noted.
“For the restaurant, (kiosks) are awesome, because people are inevitably adding things” to their order.
AI Aids Operations
If you have AI fatigue, it’s understandable. AI’s boundless potential has been noted ad nauseum throughout society in recent years. Still, the value of artificial intelligence is quite real, especially for businesses like restaurants.
“The real issue is, how do you incorporate AI and make it real and make it meaningful?” Neiman said. “I think integrating back of house to front of house and using AI I one of those places. So, if I know that it’s looking at my (restaurant’s) cheese consumption over the past X number of months, I can have ordering just-in-time.”
Curbside Pickup Ramps Up
Mobile ordering, in Neiman’s opinion, is here to stay; it has become an expectation for most restaurant customers.
Cubside pickup, specifically, is an “explosive” area of growth, the industry expert said.
“A lot of people now are wanting to pick up their food,” Neiman explained. Many consumers “expect to eat dinner at a certain time. (Curbside orders) are hotter, and it’s on time, when they want it. Those restaurants that are doing a better job with curbside are really gaining the benefit of increased customer loyalty.”
Menu Innovation Increases
Now, more than ever, diners don’t see much value in leaving home to eat “the same old, same old,” Tillster’s chief marketing exec noted.
“I think the reliance on these value meals has soured some guests. They want to try the new thing,” Neiman said.
She noted how Baskin-Robbins launches new, unique flavors at the start of each month. And, in November, the ice cream chain launched a brie, apricot and pistachio ice cream flavor, Brie My Guest, that earned rave customer reviews.
If American consumers have embraced cheese-flavored ice cream, they’ve clearly got an open mind these days.
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