How can click & collect help restaurants during and after the health crisis?
August 01, 2021
Visit Click & Collect is it still of interest in restoration, or does it definitely belong to the Covid era?
Massively deployed in a hurry between 2020 and 2021, it has since disappeared from the priorities of some establishments, while others continue to exploit it as a real sales lever.
An outdated channel for some, a strategic tool for others, Click & Collect now poses a real business challenge for restaurateurs: should we keep it, develop it... or abandon it?
We'll get back to you.
2019: Click & Collect reserved for major retailers
Before 2019, Click & Collect in the foodservice sector will remain marginal. It is particularly popular in specialty stores, such as household appliances and furniture. The foodservice industry is observing the model, without really adopting it. The venue remains the heart of the business, and digital a secondary subject.
For the self-employed who might be tempted, the main tools available on the market are expensive, lack flexibility and don't connect well with cash register software.
Above all, Click & Collect is seen as an "extra service" and not yet as a genuine sales channel.
For the record, Darty registered the term "Click & Collect" as a trademark in France in 2009. At the time, the expression had not yet entered the common parlance of the trade.
2020-2021: Click & Collect, from service to survival reflex
I don't need to remind you of the context: room closures, curfews, successive constraints. In 2020, Click & Collect will be the solution for maintaining business and continuing to generate sales.
Traditional restaurants, fast foods, chains... All sectors adopt the solution. However, it takes a while to get used to the rhythm: slot managementteam organization, anticipating orders, communication about pick-up times.
Nothing is really settled yet, and that's logical. Click & Collect is being rolled out in a hurry, without any test phase or hindsight. Establishments adjust as they go along. Customers, too, learn new reflexes: ordering in advance, keeping to a schedule, waiting their turn, etc.
As the months go by, usage becomes more structured and the model becomes more fluid.
Since 2022: Click & Collect, a less vital and more structural channel
From 2022, Click & Collect will lose its role as a "lifeline". Rooms reopen, sanitary constraints disappear and the emergency subsides.
Click & Collect is no longer a prerequisite for staying open.
And while the volume of orders is down compared to the "Covid years", it is not disappearing:
➜ Some customers have got into the habit of ordering in advance to skip the queue
➜ Some establishments see it as a way to better manage flows and capture sales in parallel with the rush
Why are some restaurants abandoning Click & Collect?
After Covid, some establishments have decided to stop Click & Collect.
Many have started out with an in-house Click & Collect system. Orders arrive by phone, by message or via social networks. At the time, it's easy to keep up, but over time, the organization becomes unmanageable.
Others have tested tools quickly and come away disappointed. Unclear interfaces, lack of connection with the cash register, restrictive settings... Click & Collect ends up creating more complications than gains. And when the time spent exceeds the figure generated, the decision is quickly made.
There are also those who have stuck to a temporary vision of Click & Collect. A solution designed to get through the crisis, not to integrate into everyday life. With the return of the hall, the channel takes a back seat, without any analysis of usage or real potential.
Finally, visibility remains a determining factor. Without clear, regular communication, Click & Collect quickly becomes outdated. Orders dwindle, the channel runs out of steam and ends up seeming superfluous.
In most cases, it's not Click & Collect that fails, but the lack of a strategy around its use.
Why you should keep (and develop) this sales channel
Forget the Covid legacy: today, choosing Click & Collect is a real business strategy.
➜ You gain anticipation on service and avoid saturating the kitchen. First and foremost, Click & Collect allows us to spread our business more evenly. Orders arrive in advance, and production can be anticipated.
➜ You get away from the logic of the platforms, you limit commissions and you keep control over your prices as well as your offers. Over time, the impact on margins is far from negligible.
➜ You increase the average basket. Ordering is done under pressure, with a clear head. Customers take the time to browse the menu, add a product or an option. Well-structured, Click & Collect naturally facilitates additional sales.
➜ You can identify habits, frequencies and loyal customers. This channel plays a key role in customer relations. Every order feeds your database. You can then work on the loyalty, with targeted, measurable actions.
The future of Click & Collect: towards a multi-channel strategy
In line with the deliveryClick & Collect is not the opposite of in-store service. The future of foodservice lies in hybridsThis is the case at all levels, and multi-channel strategy is one of the pillars of this strategy.
In a multi-channel logic, Click & Collect is seen as a trade-off between time, capacity and profitability. It enables us to capture demand that would not necessarily have switched to the dining room or delivery service: customers in a hurry at lunchtime, advance orders for the evening, group pick-ups... Without this channel, part of this figure simply doesn't exist.
This hybridization also provides real steering leverage. You can direct sales to the most relevant channel according to your current constraints. Lack of front-of-house staffhigh-voltage cooking, inclement weather... Click & Collect becomes an adjustment variable that can be activated and modulated, without calling the entire organization into question.
Finally, this hybrid model prepares the company for the future. Uses continue to evolvesometimes quickly and sometimes brutally. Having several channels active and under control means you can absorb variations without starting from scratch.
Click & Collect is no longer a plan B, but a tool for stability in a structurally unstable environment.
What's the current status of your Click & Collect offer?
You've never implemented it and you're still not sure whether it's right for you?
You launched it during Covid, but weren't convinced over time?
Are you using a solution that isn't delivering the benefits you expected?
➜ Benefit from Obypay's expertise to structure a high-performance Click & Collect offer.
