The days of customers only ordering by phone or at the counter are long over. That’s great news for you because all orders are NOT created equal. Offline (phone and walk-in) orders are significantly smaller, prone to errors, and require manpower and overhead that could be allocated elsewhere. Plus, those customers reorder less frequently.
Customers ordering online place bigger orders more often, and those easy-to-read, digital tickets mean fewer mistakes. This is exactly why the big pizza chains like Dominos and Papa Johns constantly encourage their customers to order online.
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This doesn’t mean you should stop answering the phone or lock your front door — some customers will continue to place offline orders. But you can increase your profits by encouraging those customers to order online. Here’s why:
Offline orders are inefficient
Phone orders are time consuming. Customers want a list of all your toppings, dipping sauces, specials, and they’re probably looking at an old printed menu with old prices.
What could have been as simple as a ticket instantly printing to the kitchen can become minutes of staff time spent on one customer. Orders at the counter lead to long lines, manual communication between customers and staff, and service delays during peak hours. In both cases, factors like customization requests, menu complexity, and payment processing contribute to even longer wait times compared to online ordering.
Offline orders are smaller
Your staff won’t always remember to upsell customers on high-margin sides and add-ons when taking phone and walk-in orders, especially during a rush. But, online, it’s part of the checkout process. And those extra sales of mozzarella sticks can really add up across hundreds or thousands of orders.
Online food orders are typically twice as large as offline orders due to the convenience of exploring diverse menu options, easy customization, enticing promotions, streamlined checkout, and upsells.
Offline customers order less often
Offline orders give you zero data. These are customers that walk in, walk out, and give you no way of contacting them again.
While we all like to think customers will remember to order from you again, they often need a little nudge from time to time. When you don’t collect their contact information, there is no way to get them to re-order. Online ordering customers order 50% more often due to automated marketing, easy browsing, one-click payment, and digital loyalty programs.
Offline orders are error prone
Phone orders are prone to miscommunication, especially when you factor for noisy kitchens, bad connections, language barriers, and human error. And, let’s be honest, the customer is NOT always right. If a customer claims they said “no olives” when you know they didn’t, you’re likely going to have to remake that pie.
Online ordering eliminates those errors by collecting direct input from customers in a streamlined and standardized process. With clear product descriptions, automated calculations, and built-in validation systems, online platforms drive accuracy, ensuring orders are processed correctly and efficiently.
Online ordering attracts new customers
Relying solely on walk-ins and phone orders will limit your shop’s reach. In today’s digital world, you have to offer easy, convenient online ordering in order to grow your base.
Remember: Some customers value ordering convenience over food quality and delivery speed. But, with online ordering, customers will choose your pizza over the likes of Domino’s.
Offline orders require more overhead
Online orders reduce business overhead by streamlining operations, decreasing labor costs associated with in-person transactions/phone calls, and optimizing inventory management, ultimately leading to improved efficiency and cost savings.
Digital orders never have a “bad day”
We’ve all been there. The customer was a little rude and instead of brushing it off, we matched their rudeness. We all have bad days. Except for digital orders.
The benefit most shops see with offline orders is that they don’t have to “split the pie” with anyone else. But what many shop owners fail to see is that digital orders increase the size of the pie. So instead of keeping all 8 slices to yourself, you now sell 11 slices and give one away. That’s what we call a win-win.
That’s why you should always encourage your customers to order online.