How Data Drives the Restaurant Industry

  • August 22, 2022

  • Eyes4Research

The global food service industry is endlessly dynamic and lucrative, expecting to reach $898B by the end of 2022, When optimized, the data collected in this industry can influence everything we experience about what we eat– from how long pizza takes to arrive at our door on movie night to the array of toppings we have to choose from to put on it. The companies that leverage the processed and analyzed data are the ones who will come out on top and consistently give their customers what they want when they want it.

The restaurant business is one that is famously known to operate on razor-thin margins, a market condition that was true even before the pandemic, and it continues to slow recovery.  In order to jumpstart their own recovery, restaurant owners can tap into the power of data to gather a treasure trove of information about their customers and their business operations. With that valuable information in hand, restaurants can determine which items are their best-sellers, and which ones might need a rethink.  Opportunities to reduce costs, optimize operations, and refine guest experiences also come into sharper focus when this new data is implemented. Staying on top of ever-changing food trends is also an area where real-time data analysis can pay dividends.

For large fast food chains, efficiency is paramount for a streamlined process that needs to be duplicated many times over.  McDonald’s uses data to manage their supply chain as well as to stay on top of what is happening in each of its 34,000 individual locations. Providing diners with a unique and personal experience is possible because of insights gained from their customer data.  For example, to personalize the drive-thru process, McDonald’s began changing their digital menu board to reflect the time of the day, the weather, and which items are popular at that particular location. Customers are even able to learn how long they could expect to be waiting as they drive up to place their orders.

Whether someone is running a small corner pizza shop or is an executive at a multinational burger chain, data has earned its place as an important tool for the food service industry. In a time when attention spans are short, and food trends change in the time it takes to scroll, restaurants need to keep up with the preferences of their customers and manage operations efficiently.

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