the right company for your virtual brand, one with which you can form a relationship of mutual respect. Building a brand for a restaurant is an incredibly difficult thing to do. Each menu item is painstakingly considered, the logo, colours and brand aesthetic are poured over with a keen eye, and the customer experience is honed on a daily basis. It would be a foolish endeavour to trust your brand to a third-party delivery service that only cares about the volume of orders to pad its bottom line. By being reliant on third-party platforms for both discovery, ordering and delivery, virtual restaurants can also lose a huge advantage to restaurants that manage delivery inhouse: data. We live in the era of data,
yet virtual restaurants are throwing away storerooms of data to third-party services that they could otherwise use to connect with customers. Despite these concerns, if you’re a restaurateur, there are many reasons to consider joining the virtual revolution. The low barrier to entry reduces financial risks for startups, and the decreased overhead and labor expenses allow restaurants to focus their budgets on better quality ingredients, marketing, and improved operational efficiencies. From June 2018 to June 2019 over 50 virtual restaurants opened throughout New Zealand. Globally, the food delivery market is expected to grow to USD$365 billion by 2030. Virtual or Ghost restaurants are more than a just a flash-in-the-pan, or reaction to the current pandemic, it’s a trend that will continue to change the dining experience forever.
EMBRACING E-COMMERCE
Opening an online store extends your market, it’s a chance to connect with customers and build your brand. Now more than ever, it is crucial to diversify and look beyond the brick and mortar format.
Why open online?
Customers now expect to buy in-store and on the internet. They want to interact with retailers in a way that suits them and are increasingly used to having their needs met 24/7. It is important for all brands to have at least some digital presence. This might be as simple as a listing on GoogleMaps so customers April 2020
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