Consumers ‘obsessed with technology’

For example, there are on average 1.3 phones per person in the UK; we change our phones more often than our toothbrushes and there are 3.1 connected devices for each pub customer, the data showed.

With this in mind, operators should seek to offer their customers better experiences with technology. This could include using it to help reduce waiting times, to provide more information about food and drink offers or ways to make payments simpler.

There has been a bigger shift in recent times towards consumers using mobile devices for reservations, as well as a growing number of brands engaging customers in monetary transactions digitally, the research showed.

Build engagement​

However, there are bountiful opportunities for businesses to build engagement with existing and new customers.

Ways of doing this could include launching loyalty programmes, providing split payment options, reservation and delivery or click-and-collect opportunities.

For operators considering implementing an order-at-the-table system, they could see customers spending £99 more per month.

Some 36% of customers say they use such apps for speed, one in three customers say more businesses should have apps, with Millennials and parents preferring them.

Meanwhile, delivery is a booming area of hospitality with more than 54m orders made in 2018, showed the research.

Delivery consumers​

Some 70% of food delivery orders are made by just 21% of frequent delivery consumers, with half of all users being Millennials.

However, there are still parts of the digital world that cause customers concern or puts them off using tech to buy food and drink.

A third of customers say they prefer to pay cash, 26% say they prefer the human touch, 22% have security concerns and 17% worry about data privacy.

Overall, though, the data showed that more consumers are embracing technology within hospitality.