Independent Restaurants Gear Up for Digital Innovation in 2023

Independent restaurants are planning to add four new digital features next year amid economic concerns.

By the Numbers

Research from PYMNTS’ new study, “Main Street Health Survey Q4 2022: SMBs Brace For A Recession,” which draws from responses from 500 U.S.-based businesses in October and November, finds that hospitality firms are planning for technological innovation.

The report noted that firms in the food, entertainment and accommodations sector are planning to implement, on average, 4.3 new digital capabilities in the next year, making the category the second-most innovative after construction and utilities.

The news comes as, according to the report, the share of firms in the sector expecting year-over-year revenue increases has fallen 10 percentage points relative to last year.

The Data in Action

Many restaurants have already been doing this.

“When [restaurants] were forced to close their doors to in-person business, many of them quickly developed new strategies to service their communities without missing a beat,” Colleen Taylor, president of U.S. Merchant Services at American Express, told PYMNTS in an interview.

Taylor noted that, amid ongoing changes in consumers’ behavior, independent restaurants “need to be tech savvy and willing to leverage technology.”

Plus, tech providers have needed to adapt as well. With the surge in demand from independents, these businesses have had to create solutions that meet the needs of smaller restaurants, both in terms of pricing and capabilities.

For instance, order integration tech company ItsaCheckmate announced in September the launch of an integration for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to power direct ordering through Google Search and Maps.

“Obviously, a lot of restaurants are being searched for on Google, and [we enable] the customers who are searching for those restaurants to order directly on Google,” ItsaCheckmate Founder and CEO Vishal Agarwal told PYMNTS in an interview. “It’s an extremely effective way for restaurants to get direct orders from the customers who are searching for them.”