As we move towards the end of one year, we traditionally look ahead to the next, and at Redcat we’re no different. We like to reflect on the progress that hospitality IT has made and in particular, we like to look ahead to the trends and technologies that are likely to shape the next year, and beyond, into the second quarter of the 21st century. Here’s our take on the technologies that will be making a difference in the world of hospo for 2025…
- Contactless engagement - contactless transactions increased dramatically through necessity in the pandemic and its immediate aftermath, but now they seem to be here to stay because restaurants and customers alike love them. We predict a continued rise in three popular contactless technologies:
- QR code ordering – where customers scan a QR code to open your menu on their tablet or phone, and order and pay directly from their device.
- Kiosk self-service – customers order and pay on kiosks screens in your restaurant
- AI voice ordering – drive thru customers place their order with an AI voice system that prompts them for their choices and payment.
The reason that we see these technologies continuing to thrive and grow in use is because of the benefits they offer restaurants and diners.
- Increased accuracy – digitally placed orders go straight to the kitchen without going through a person, eliminating human error and the follow on risk of customer dissatisfaction and wasted food.
- Faster time to order – cutting out the human step means that orders get to the kitchen faster, keeping the ‘Q’ in ‘QSR’.
- Makes best use of staff – enabling customers to place their orders directly with the kitchen means you need fewer staff, as they only have to focus on bringing out the food, not taking the order.
- Increased sales: kiosks are proven to increase sales, and some businesses are also seeing increases from QR code ordering too.
- AI-driven insights - understanding what is going on in your restaurants is the key to efficiency and profitability. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a game-changer when it comes to unlocking the insights that are within your business data. We see AI becoming a crucial business tool in 2025, analysing customer data, and extracting insights that will help with a range of business operations including menu management, pricing, ordering and inventory and personalised marketing so that every customer receives information that is tailored to them.
- Personalisation through apps – continuing on the theme of personalisation, customer demand for it shows no sign of decreasing. The days of ‘one size fits all’ have gone and 2025 will see the continued popularity of apps that offer a customers a personalised experience with their favourite QSR brands. Personalisation will include tailoring the way they use their loyalty points, menu suggestions based on their preferences and dietary requirements, or ‘build your own meal’ functions within apps that allow them to create their own unique dish.
- Robots – no longer just a vision of the future, robots are already in use in QSRs and 2025 will see increasing use, especially as wages increase and working populations decline. Using robots to automate repetitive and programmable tasks ensures that you use valuable staff to do the things that robots cannot – like customer engagement, and supervision. We see robots being used at three stages of the QSR business model:
- Kitchen robots – ‘robot chefs’ bring consistency and efficiency to cooking and assembly tasks. For example, Chipotle has used robots to make guacamole and Cali Express has robot chefs that cook burgers and fries. Robots ensure exact ingredient measures and cooking times, and are particularly valuable in QSRs where customers want to know what they will get, and to have the same experience in every restaurant.
- Delivery Robots – with delivery growing faster than eat in, getting food to customers fast and cost-effectively is a continuing challenge for QSRs. Delivery robots - autonomous self-driving vehicles – will continue to deliver orders to the customer’s door without the need for the human and environmental cost of sending out a car or scooter. In the US, for example, Uber Eats and Serve are partnering to offer robot deliveries to QSRs such as Shake Shack.
- Serving robots – whilst arguably the least used form of robotics, we see continued staff shortages increasing their use. Melbourne restaurant Dodee Paidang has used BellaBot servers since 2021, and in the UK robots have been used at Bella Italia, Sakura and The Tea Terrace.
- Virtual kitchens – another innovation in the QSR sector that we see continuing as a trend in 2025 (and again driven by the popularity of delivery) is the virtual kitchen. The global market for virtual kitchens is forecast to reach $1 trillion by 2030. Virtual kitchens (also known as dark kitchens and ghost kitchens) prepare food solely for delivery, with no customers visiting the site. That means that they don’t have to pay high street rents and can cook for multiple brands in one kitchen. In the fast moving world of QSR, virtual kitchens give restaurant owners the chance to launch new concepts and brands fast, and with lower startup costs.
- Immersive Technologies – the immersive technologies of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) are not new technologies per se, but their use in hospitality is an emerging and exciting trend. It’s seen as a way for QSR brands to tell their story in an innovative and engaging way. AR and VR can help to showcase the culinary creation of dishes, the source of the produce, and the story and people behind the brand. Today’s consumers, especially Gen Z, want to engage at a deeper level with the brands they love, and immersive technologies will increasingly be used to create that connection.
In a different application, VR can also be used for staff training, putting new staff members virtually into a restaurant or kitchen, providing them with training at a lower cost and less risk, and getting them out serving customers faster.
- Sustainability and waste management – managing inventory to reduce waste has always been a priority for restaurants – based on concern for the environment and their bottom line. The difference in 2025 is that technology will become a key weapon in the war on waste. For example, using AI for trend forecasting will enable restaurants to predict demand with greater accuracy, and combined with tracking of inventory they will be able to tailor their ordering to have enough, but not too much, of perishable items, reducing both waste and cost.
At Redcat, we’ve always been excited by the possibilities that technology offers restaurants and QSRs, and as we stand at the threshold of 2025, that still holds true. Technology continuously advances and there are always new ways to apply it in the hospitality sector, to help restaurants to manage costs, operate sustainably and above all offer outstanding service to their customers.