Restaurant booking platform Bookatable.co.uk has released its Quarterly Dining Trends report based on 12 months of British booking and dining data. The research, which delves deeper into Bookatable’s growing mobile market, reveals a 141 per cent increase in mobile bookings from June 2014 to June 2015.
Thinking about the future of dining, Bookatable.co.uk also polled 2,000 British diners to find out whether there was a growing demand for mobile payments and other digital developments within the restaurant space in light of the dramatic increase in bookings made via mobile devices.
Pay-At-Table technology to benefit restaurant and diner
The research revealed that over a third of respondents (33 per cent) thought that the ability to pay via mobile, known as Pay-At-Table technology, instead of waiting for a waiter/waitress to prepare the bill, would be more convenient and offer them a much better dining experience. A quarter of respondents (25 per cent) also admitted that they would be more inclined to tip their waiter/waitress more if they were able to pay for their meal via their mobile device.
A reduction in the amount of time spent preparing the bill would not only benefit the restaurants whose table turn-over rate will increase, it would also benefit the diner. Bookatable’s research revealed that Brits spend on average around 3 hours and 36 minutes each year waiting for the bill, and 22 per cent of those surveyed said that Pay-At-Table technology would be beneficial because they could pay for the bill and leave the restaurant whenever they want.
Mobile Bookings up 141%
With a 141 per cent increase in mobile bookings since June 2014, it is clear that there has been a surge in the amount of consumers who are turning to mobile technology for researching restaurants to dine in and booking tables. Making plans on-the-go has been made even easier by new technology, with 34 per cent of bookings made via mobile being made just hours before the dining time, compared to 28 per cent on desktops.
Women are more likely to book a restaurant via their mobile device according to Bookatable’s quarterly data, with 60 per cent of all mobile bookings in the last year being made by women. Further statistics revealed the average spend per head on restaurant bookings made via a mobile device is lower than desktop bookings, at £24.94 (mobile) and £26.16 (desktop).
Top 10 restaurants for mobile bookings
The top ten most popular restaurants for mobile bookings in 2015 include a mix of popular London, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham based restaurants. The top spot for mobile bookings was Flambo’s Exotic Feast, located at Alton Towers Resort in Staffordshire, accounting for 12 per cent. This was followed closely by The Rainforest Café in London’s busy Piccadilly Circus, taking 11.7 per cent of mobile bookings.
- Alton Towers Resort – Flambo’s Exotic Feast, Staffordshire
- The Rainforest café, London
- Cloud 23 – Manchester Deansgate
- Miller & Carter – Sutton Park
- OXO Tower Brasserie, London
- Afternoon Tea at The Ritz, London
- Jamie’s Italian – Newcastle
- Miller & Carter – Penn, Wolverhampton
- The Ritz Restaurant – London
- Sticks’n’Sushi – Covent Garden, London
Using mobile devices on-the-go
Joe Steele, CEO, Bookatable, commented: “Given the dramatic increase in mobile bookings since last year, we’re excited to identify a growing demand for Pay-At-Table technology which gives diners the ability to not only book tables at restaurants, but also to split the bill with fellow diners, and pay for their meals via their mobile device. This demonstrates an exciting shift in consumer behaviour towards using mobile devices on-the-go for a range of uses surrounding dining out.
“The function of being able to pay through a mobile device at the table using Pay-At-Table technology not only increases loyalty and customer engagement, it also boosts revenues through capitalising on an increased number of table covers and allows restaurants to spend more time on customer service that would have otherwise been spent preparing the receipt.
“With Pay-At-Table, people are more inclined to tip their waiters/waitresses; all things which Bookatable are committed to ensuring our restaurant partners are provided with.”
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