5 Popular Options for Online Food Ordering Applications

In this article we will be exploring the Top 5 Successful Online Food Ordering applications in the World · Blink· Gloria Foods · Take a Well-informed Decision While Selecting a Online Food Ordering Application…

The Covid-19 pandemic threw the already popular delivery and online ordering trend skyrocketing

Chances are whether you are a restaurant manager or owner you are looking to hop on the bandwagon and adopt an online food ordering application to help your restaurant in these trying times.

Over 80% of restaurants are choosing technology, such as online ordering, inventory apps, reservation apps, and restaurant analytics to help with making their business more efficient and run more successfully.

However, with the popularity and need for such solutions, the options to choose from are many and the choice can become confusing.

That is why we have curated this list of the top 5 most popular options for online food ordering applications and why you should consider investing in online food ordering applications in the first place.

So, let’s get to it!

Why Consider Investing in Online Food Ordering Applications

The bottom line is, investing in an online food ordering application your business is open to the opportunity to grow exponentially.

Investing in online ordering systems allows you to provide your customers with tools to allow them to simplify their ordering process while also offering your restaurant a chance to make its own in the competitive food and beverage market.

Here are some reasons why you should consider investing in an online ordering application:

1. The choice to order from restaurant websites or applications is more popular

There are many studies indicating the fact that the option to order online from a restaurant’s website or app is preferred by many customers.

Different studies have found the following to be true:

• 70% of consumers prefer to order directly from a restaurant rather than choosing for money to go to a third-party application.
• 52% of customers in the United States say that they prefer to use a restaurant’s own branded app or website to order food rather than using a third-party food portal application.
• In 2017, 81% of diners used a restaurant’s website to place an order online. Considering that this is before the Global pandemic when dine-in was still an option this figure is enormous.

The ease of online ordering available with just one click and at the palm of one’s hand on mobile devices further increases customer’s needs for such facilities. Such online ordering systems allow for orders to be placed both quickly and painlessly.

In fact, studies conducted by Interactive Advertising Bureau and Viggle found that 69% of customers order food online using a mobile device.

Millennials are a large target audience for any restaurant and to get their attention you need to speak their language, which is to provide them the ability to use their phones to order online.

• Visualization of your menu encourages bigger and higher orders

Studies have shown that when you are hungry you think about seeking, acquiring, and consuming food.

When a customer is hungry and they can go online and see the food they are more likely to order more food than they may otherwise have done so over the phone.

It is true you first eat with your eyes and having a menu online allows you to put up appealing pictures of your menu to encourage customers to order.

• Online ordering limits misunderstandings and frustrations

Ordering offline or over the phone has the potential to lead to miscommunication and eventually frustration and lack of satisfaction for a customer.

Online ordering allows customers to specify their preferences directly without the risk of being misheard due to background noise over the phone.

• An online menu is simpler to manage and creates less hassle for you as a restaurant

95% of restaurants agree that technology improves business efficiency. Having an online menu takes away the hassle of having to print and distribute menus.

You also gain flexibility in terms of the ability to change your menu with ease.

Online ordering systems also offer you the option to set up promotions and advertise and market your products.

Online clients on average tend to spend 4% more money according to the NPR.

Switching to online ordering from taking orders offline and on the phone also frees up considerable time for your employees who had to stay on call with indecisive or undecided clients.

Having your own online ordering system also ensures that you are not paying commission fees to aggregator sites. Moreover, you also gain access to analytics and data of your customer’s usage to help better your restaurant.

Features we Considered in our Top Picks

Now that you know what you stand to gain by investing in online food ordering applications let’s move on to our top picks that you can choose from.

But before we can talk about our top picks here are the features we looked out for when curating this list.

Most importantly we considered the ability to create and showcase an online menu either on a website or a mobile application. The ease of uploading this menu and the flexibility associated with the uploaded menu were also considered.

Secondly, we took into consideration the way the platform allowed for online ordering. We considered how streamlined the entire process was from a customer’s point of view. We included the entire process from the restaurant receiving the order to the customer getting their delivery.

We also considered what delivery management features were available. We wanted to include those solutions that offered fleet management and delivery team management among other tools.

Additional bonus points were awarded to those solutions that offered advanced features such as analytics and customer dashboards.

Don’t Have Time to Read The Entire Post? Here’s What You Need to Know about Online Food Ordering Management System

For restaurant business owners, online food ordering management system takes an entirely different meaning. This is why we wanted to highlight some of the factors that make any online food ordering solution a tad bit better.

As a food order customer, you may not be aware of the following facts. But the next time, you notice a delay in service, or bizarre food app behavior, some of the things to look out for, are appended below:

Real-Time Order Delivery Tracking System:

For any online food ordering management system to work at optimal levels, it needs to offer real-time delivery tracking.

Customers get frustrated when their orders are not delivered on time, or if the rider gets lost and keeps contacting for updated results. With real-time tracking enabled or integrated with the food aggregator app, restaurant owners and customers have peace of mind. They can see and track their order to anticipate the delivery time, and prepare in advance accordingly.

Predictive Food Menu Order Search

For repeat customers, predictive search removes the hassle of searching for favorite food items from the entire menu, over and over again. Many a time, people don’t remember the exact name of the menu dishes. This type of function comes in handy and should be included in every online food ordering management system through a robust mobile food ordering app.

Flexible Payment Options:

Flexible payment options are part of the online food ordering solution for both the customer and the restaurant owner.

All thanks to the latest Pos solutions, restaurant owners can integrate cashless payment modes, card-based payment options, and contactless delivery options to help make up for a delightful customer experience.

Intuitive & Responsive Mobile Food Ordering App:

UI and UX play an important role when we talk about online food ordering applications these days. A mundane user interface with dull visuals, and low-quality food images can diss people off even if the food itself is one of the best in taste!

As a restaurant owner, make sure your mobile food ordering app is in a top-notch state, with equally responsive UX behavior so that it doesn’t take a lot of time for people to place their food orders online.

Popular Options for Online Ordering Applications

Here is our list of the best options for online food ordering applications.

Our Top Pick: Blink

Blink, also known as BlinkCo takes the top spot on our list and if you look into the features offered and its ease of use there is no confusion as to why.

With Blink, you get a Software-as-a-Service online ordering solution that provides backend access to a branded, pre-designed template for your restaurant’s website as well as mobile applications.

The mobile applications are available for both Android and iOS devices making sure that your customers have access to your brand and your online ordering application.

Blink’s solution comes with a range of features that benefit your customers but also make managing your online brand easy and simple.

Just to name a few of the features you can have on your restaurant’s website and mobile application:

• An easy online ordering process for your customers with options to create an order, edit an order, choose for the order to be delivered or picked up, or even pre-order to receive items at a specific time.
  
  
• As an administrator of the app, you can ensure that only the items available show up on the menu to avoid disappointment or confusion for your customers.
  
  
• Users will receive order confirmations as well as be able to see any past orders they have placed.
  
  
• Users can also track the delivery of their orders via status updates, or through the map interface which displays the driver’s whereabouts in real-time.
  
  
• The application also offers features that allow the generation of loyalty points for promotions and marketing.
  
  
• The applications offer users the option to pay via different methods including accepting credit and debit card payments, cash on delivery. As an administrator, you can even integrate with other payment gateways.
  
  
• Blink’s backend can be integrated with any POS or ERP that has APIs available.
  
  
• Blink also offers fleet management. As an administrator, you can track all deliveries. As a driver, you have access to an integrated delivery management system to get details on your delivery and be guided through the most optimal route.

Blink is the perfect solution for your restaurant and your customers.

You gain an easy-to-use portal where orders can be received without frustration or confusion while avoiding heavy commissions and having access to data that you would not otherwise if you were to use an aggregator site.

To check out what else Blink has to offer, see the details of features here. You could also book a demo to talk to one of our restaurant consultants.

2.     Square Online

Square Online is a great choice if you are a small restaurant or café with a focused menu.

The tool is a free eCommerce website that functions with the Square payments platform. However, due to this fact and the fact that it only integrates with the Square POS system the tool can be fairly limited.

The Square Online platform provides an easy way for restaurants to process payments and get into online ordering. The simplicity of the site builder enables restaurants to start processes immediately.

While the tool does not offer delivery management, you can add a delivery option to your Square online ordering site and manage drivers manually or using other software.

3.     GloriaFood

GloriaFood is another online food ordering solution that can take orders from customers for both delivery as well as pick-up options.

The orders can be received from your restaurant’s website or from your Facebook social media account. With GloriaFood you can integrate with your Facebook profile so that you have a tab that allows customers to see and order from a menu without leaving the page.

GloriaFood also offers restaurants an app that they can use to accept or reject incoming orders.

The platform offers a range of add-on tools and even integrations. These tools include things such as payment processing, a branded mobile application, and an optimized restaurant website.

You can integrate features such as two-way text messaging, and online payment processing.

While the platform is easy to use and great for independent small restaurants you need to consider you may require add-ons and integrations to make the tool suitable for your business and your customers.

4.     The Ordering.app

Fairly new to the scene, the Ordering.app is an ordering solution for restaurants by Google.

The tool offers some basic online food ordering system features such as the ability for users to create profiles and view previous orders. Customers can also choose whether they want to place orders for delivery, pick up, or curbside pick-up.

The Ordering.app solution also offers some unique features such as the ability for groups to build an order together via a sharable link.

However, since the tool is fairly new it still lacks in certain aspects. For example, the delivery management tools aren’t the best and the tool only works for Android devices.

Moreover, while you can integrate the Ordering.app with a POS it is limited to the Clover POS.

Since the system is fee-based and does not require a long-term contract, as a restaurant you have the option to see if it works for you without committing long term.

5.     Flipdish

Finally, we have Flipdish. Flipdish is a solution that allows restaurants and cafes to create branded websites and mobile applications to offer online ordering to their customers.

While the tool offers core features needed to streamline delivery, they are available through integrations with field service management tools and service dispatch tools.

Flipdish also provides restaurants and cafes with a dashboard view that offers quick overviews of sales performance and other such data like average order value, and information on where an order is coming from.

The tool also has built-in marketing features such as loyalty programs and SEO optimization for restaurant websites.

Online Order Apps For Restaurants

With technological advancements in recent years, it’s no wonder that online food ordering apps are becoming increasingly popular. After all, who doesn’t love the convenience of being able to order their favourite meals from their favourite restaurants with just a few clicks?

If you’re a restaurant owner, you may wonder if you should jump the online ordering bandwagon. Let’s now look at some of the pros and cons of online food ordering apps to help you decide.

Advantages of Online Order Apps for Restaurants

One of the most important benefits of online food ordering apps is that they are incredibly convenient for customers. Instead of having to call or visit a restaurant in person, customers can open up an app and place their orders. This convenience is one of the main reasons why online food ordering apps are so popular.

Another advantage of online food ordering apps is that they can help increase restaurant sales. Customers who might not have visited a particular restaurant may be more likely to do so if they know they can order their food online. Additionally, online orders tend to be larger than traditional orders, so restaurants can potentially make more money from online orders.

Disadvantages of Online Food Order Apps

One of the most significant flaws of online food ordering apps is that these apps take a cut of each sale, which can eat into a restaurant’s profits. Additionally, online food ordering apps can sometimes be unreliable, and orders can get lost or delayed.

Another thing one must remember is that not all customers are comfortable ordering their food online. Some people prefer to visit a restaurant and talk to a natural person when placing their order. If your restaurant caters to this type of customer, online food ordering may not be the best option.

Considering adding an online food ordering app to your restaurant, weigh the pros and cons carefully before deciding. And remember, even if you decide to offer online ordering, make sure you don’t forget about your loyal in-person customers!

How To Build An Online Food Delivery Mobile App For Your Restaurant?

If you’re a restaurant owner, you may consider adding an online food ordering system to your business. But before you do, there are a few things you need to know about how to build an online food delivery mobile app for your restaurant.

1. Decide what type of online ordering system you want to use.
2. Choose the right online food ordering app for your restaurant.
3. Teach your employees how to use this online ordering system.
4. Promote your online ordering system to customers.
5. Monitor your online orders and make changes as needed.

Which Is The Best Online Food Order App?

There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on your specific needs and preferences. However, some popular online food ordering apps include Blink, Seamless, Grubhub, and Eat24. One app may offer a benefit the other doesn’t, depending on your needs.

In Conclusion

And there you have it, our top picks for online food ordering applications.

We hope this list provides you with the information you need to make the right decision for your restaurant and your customers so you can start providing online ordering options with ease.

Remember to consider what deployment model the system you choose has. It could either be a cloud-based or on-premise model.

If you are a smaller establishment just starting out and are simply testing the online ordering waters you may want to stick with cloud-based models that maintain the responsibility of hosting and managing the tool with the vendor. Comparatively, if you are a business with multiply outlets and are looking for more flexibility the on-premise model is for you.