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Although customer tastes are trending toward takeout, delivery customers remain a critical segment to embrace. That’s because one key learning from the last two years is that delivery customers are different, and in a good way. Paytronix has published The Order & Delivery Report 2022, which details this trend and the data surrounding it. This blog and the ones that follow will highlight findings from that report, as well as sheds new light on recently acquired data.

Delivery guests order more, tip more, and are more loyal.

While both takeout and delivery subtotals increased roughly 15% in the wake of the pandemic, delivery subtotals have consistently remained about 12.5% higher, contributing substantially to restaurants and c-stores’ bottom lines.

Moreover, delivery customers tip better and more frequently. The data below shows that for much of 2021, the average delivery tip was 12.5% of the subtotal, more than double takeout order tips. And 2021 takeout orders included a tip just 37% of the time compared to nearly 73% of delivery orders. These trends held steady throughout 2021, indicating an existential and fundamental difference between the two groups.

Delivery guests are also more loyal and order repeatedly from the brands they love. Approximately a third of orders from delivery customers are from guests who order multiple times a month, while takeout customers tend to be more sporadic, with only about a quarter of orders coming from customers who order multiple times a month. Since pickup customers order less frequently, brands should strive to be memorable. A special experience for pickup customers can do a lot to make a customer feel appreciated.

Delivery guests are more likely to love or hate their order…but not as much in between

Delivery guests are more likely leave either very high or very low ratings. This is likely because, while the population of guests who order delivery is more loyal, there is a higher likelihood for order mistakes to occur when delivery is added to the mix. Delivery gets pretty much the same score as takeout, except for the categories of Service and Food, which tend to be the feedback questions most impacted when there is a slow delivery or missing item. This error is compounded by the difficulty of correcting mistakes off-premises. Delivery customers also understand they are valuable, and they demand great food and service to stay.

While there’s no question delivery is operationally difficult, when it goes right, it goes really right. These customers are generous and loyal, and it’s worth making changes to your order and delivery process to accommodate them.

Last week, Paytronix capped off the #TikTokToTechPX Challenge, run in conjunction with Boston Public Schools, specifically the English High School. We had asked the students to create a TikTok video that tells their story about what attracted them to technology. These students (and their parents) celebrated their exceptional work highlighting the potential of a career in tech.  

This is part of a greater Paytronix effort to bring diversity and inclusion to technology roles not only at Paytronix, but also within the industry at large. In working with Boston Public Schools, Paytronix reaches high school students who have an interest in tech to help show them a path to a role at a company like Paytronix.  

Congratulations to the winners, and we look forward to welcoming them as part of the next generation of tech innovators. 

Subscription programs have emerged as a key component in the restaurant marketing toolkit. Like the loyalty programs on which they’re based, well-designed subscription programs keep guests returning and help drive incremental value. They also reach important demographic groups to produce long-term benefits.

The latest collaborative study between Paytronix and PYMNTS, The Digital Divide: Restaurant Subscribers and Loyalty Programs, finds that subscription programs help restaurants lock in their most valuable and loyal customers.

Survey results show that 75% of non-subscribed consumers are at least “slightly interested” in joining a restaurant subscription program. And there’s a significant chance that new subscribers will become highly valuable to a brand.

Today’s restaurant subscribers are among the industry’s most engaged, and loyal customers. They visit more often, spend more, and stick around for longer.

It’s therefore no surprise that a strong correlation exists, as 80% of subscribers also use loyalty programs.

Subscription programs tap into a particularly valuable consumer demographic: the bridge millennial. College-educated, tech-savvy, and wealthy, this group takes full advantage of a brand’s loyalty offerings and spends more than the average consumer.

Subscribers have indicated that their primary needs are convenience, simplicity, and value. For most brands, implementing a subscription program is a logical step because it involves many of the elements that are already at the core of the guest experience.

This has been a year of rapid change: restaurants and convenience stores alike were forced to make quick pivots in how they approach guest engagement, technology, and business operations.

During times of tumultuous change, solid brand leadership becomes even more critical to success. During PXUX 2020, Chief Executive of Market Platform Dynamics Karen Webster led a panel of other chief executives in conversation about how the hospitality and convenience landscapes have changed over the past few months, and how they’ve positioned their brands to weather the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Speaking about their brands’ strategies were: 

• Gus Olympidis, CEO, Family Express
• Simon Richards, CEO,  Thorntons
• Ray Wiley, founder, Hot Head Burritos and Rapid Fired Pizza
• Ryan Dion, CEO, 110 Grill Restaurant Group
• Adam Halberg, CEO, Barcelona Wine Bar

These leaders described the ways they’ve led their brands through monumental changes this year, about the investments they’ve made that are already paying off, and about how they’re supporting their employees, an essential piece of the puzzle. The panel left attendees with five key takeaways:

1. Meet guests where they’re comfortable. Whether it’s understanding shifts in consumer behavior or using traditional loyalty channels, use technology to create multiple opportunities for the guests to engage with the brand. 
2. Create technology ecosystems, not silos. Consumer preference and public health guidelines shift rapidly, so the guest-facing technology will need to keep pace. Ensure each piece of technology, from fuel pumps to mobile apps, works together to adapt to this changing environment. 

For the remaining three takeaways, download your free infographic here.