Today I breakdown three tech categories that could be leaders in the future recovery of the restaurant industry. The key will be consumer adoption, UX, and the storytelling that many restaurants will need to implement to shift into a next-gen technology future.

Faster Mobile Payments

Square, for instance, launched new handheld devices for servers that are designed to speed table turns. And Toast unveiled upgrades to its QR-code-based ordering and payment system, including a new feature that allows both the server and guests to add items to a running tab.

The tools are not necessarily new, but they're being increasingly framed as labor savers because they eliminate the need for a server to run back and forth to put in an order or grab the bill.

Delivery Technology

Next-gen tech will begin to break out the delivery segment and potentially drive costs up in the beginning with higher margins in the future. Expect more logistics, order ahead, staging technology, and self-delivery technology. The key will be mobile UX integration to improve the customer experience to increase loyalty.

Casual Dining Enters Premium Drive Thru

Trends are heating up in Casual-dining drive-thrus. They’ve started to appear in various forms, from a full-service drive-thru at Smokey Bones to simple drive-up pickup windows at some Applebee’s. Many analysts are leaning in that we will see more chains moving in this direction.

Expect some premium aspects presented by casual brands to compete - the bigger question will be the aspect of if premium drive-thru is a good timing based on the economic conditions.

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