You’ve probably used a digital restaurant menu recently, whether you realize it or not. More and more restaurants, cafes, breweries—and even drive-thru windows—are using computerized menu boards instead of printing new paper menus each time they make a change. In fact, digital restaurant signage analyst Lyle Bunn found that 80% of adults had seen digital signage in the past month, and 70% reported making an unplanned purchase because of it. The switch to digital signage may seem like an expensive undertaking, but investing in it can actually save you money. It also provides your customers with a more enjoyable experience and even boosts sales!
What is a Digital Restaurant Menu?
Restaurant menus use three basic components: a screen, a connection to content delivery system hardware and some software. This approach, coupled with well-crafted text and images, can help take your restaurant menu to the next level.
Your digital menu could take shape as a large display near the drive-through window, a touch-screen kiosk at the entrance to your restaurant, a wall-mounted screen at the order counter, even small electronic menus at the tables for your diners to view… the possibilities are endless!
Reasons to Switch to a Digital Restaurant Menu
Some of the key reasons to switch to digital restaurant menus include:
- Cut costs and material use: Digital restaurant menus make it easy to revise or update your offerings quickly and easily, without the need for printing new menus. A smart menu system allows you to promote specials and keep your offerings fresh, keeping customers coming back. Digital restaurant menus are also more environmentally friendly than traditional paper menus. They use less paper and ink, which helps to cut back on waste. This saves on printing costs, as well as cutting down on physical storage space for your restaurant.
- Engage all generations: In today’s digital age, all consumers are more accustomed to entertaining, dynamic content with plenty of visuals and video—particularly younger generations.
- Increase your messaging: The human brain is much better at processing visuals than text, so you can add more information to your customers’ dining experience by including photos and videos of food in your digital menu.
- Improve your customer experience and decrease perceived wait times: Studies show that digital restaurant signage and menus keep customers entertained while they wait, decreasing their perception of how long a service is taking and increasing customer satisfaction.
- Maximize sales: Studies show an overall increase in sales between 3-5% after the installation of a digital menu board, and even higher increases for specifically-promoted or highlighted menu items.
Creative Ideas for Digital Restaurant Signage and Menus
Digital restaurant signage and digital menus offer businesses endless possibilities for creativity in the realm of advertising – here are some great examples to help get your creative juices flowing:
- Use social media to encourage online engagement from your “foodie” followers by incorporating it into the digital signage at your restaurant. For instance, you can display social media feeds and offer customers a free product or discount if they tag your business or leave an online review.
- Gastropubs, tap houses and breweries have started using digital menus to their advantage, incorporating visual icons to transmit more information about the beers they have on tap. For example, you could include the brewery logo, a keg icon showing how much beer is left in the keg, color codes for different types of beer, and glass icons to show the available draft sizes.
- A newer trend, some restaurants are starting to use touch-screen menus at their tables or kiosks where customers can flip through options. Many take advantage of technology to offer digital menus that customers can use while they eat. This makes it easier for them not only to order at their table but also continue browsing and place additional orders throughout the meal.
Digital Restaurant Menu Recap
These are just a few of the ways in which digital signage can benefit your restaurant. With so many exciting ideas to explore and numerous benefits for you, your business and customers… what are you waiting for? Go digital today and stay ahead of the curve tomorrow!
