How Did The Restaurant Industry change In Post Pandemic Era?

The coronavirus outbreak has drastically changed the way we live our lives. Yes, that’s absolutely true in every sense. From performing our daily homely chores to the way, we eat outside, everything looks different now. During the pandemic, many industries suffered huge losses. And the restaurant industry is among those businesses that faced a sharp loss in their daily sales.

The governments of mostly all states of all countries banned in-person dining, and consumers started stockpiling groceries. But after several weeks of the lockdown, a new trend started taking shape. Many restaurants began investing in making their drive-thru lanes more efficient, while others added their first drive-thru lanes.

What Are Drive-Thru Lanes?

If the term drive-thru seems to be a little difficult to understand, we can make it simple and understandable for you. Drive-thru lanes are restaurants designed for consumers to buy food without leaving their cars. It is a type of takeout service provided by restaurants to help their customers have a modern and quick service.

During the pandemic and post COVID era, the drive-thru restaurants became very popular as dining in was totally banned. Drive-thru restaurants offer better menu displays, and it’s easier for the customers to order food in a more personalized way. Many food chains use digital technology to make their drive-thru business a success.

Why Drive-Thru Restaurants Became So Popular?

The food industry is no more all about simply offering foods. Nowadays, food lovers like more customization in everything and food are no exception. Due to the ban in restaurant dining facility and the social distancing norms, drive-thru ordering systems became the only way to keep the food businesses up and running. According to reports, there was almost a 45% increase in drive-thru use after the pandemic.

We Will Tell You Why Drive-Thru Lanes Became So Popular During Pandemic

They Are Convenient For The Customers

Trust me, drive-thrus are all about convenience. While ordering from drive-thru lanes, the customers can order their food, pay for it, and receive it without leaving their cars. And since dining in includes long waiting hours, this system is high-speed and easily acceptable. According to the studies, our customer has to wait around 50 seconds in a drive-thru line. And they get their food within four to five minutes, which is barely any wastage.

Drive-thrus are primarily for hungry customers who want to have food almost instantly. During the pandemic, as people were not allowed to roam around much, drive-thrus became popular.

It Increases The Capacity Of Serving

When a restaurant provides a dine-in facility, they have specific limitations in the number of people they can serve at once. That is not the case in the drive-thru ordering systems, and as a result, restaurants with drive-thru facilities can help more people than they can accommodate in their dining rooms. This factor was incredibly effective during and after the pandemic, while indoor sitting was limited or prohibited in many parts of the world. Additionally, outdoor dining depends upon the weather and many restaurants that were about to shut down sustained through the drive-thru system.

It Became A New Revenue Stream For Many

It is sad to see how businesses started failing after the pandemic hit. A drive-thru ordering system worked like a new revenue stream for many restaurants suffering from lockdown norms. If you have a restaurant business, you must opt for as many options as possible to make money. The more options you get, the more likely it is to thrive. When you add a drive-thru revenue stream to your indoor and outdoor dining, you create more survival ways.

They Are Pandemic Friendly

Last but not least, drive-thru systems are perfectly designed for pandemics. As the customer can order through a two-way microphone system, they can avoid face-to-face contact except for the payment and the pickup part of the transaction. Many restaurants close windows and keep the interaction points minimum in a drive-thru. Therefore, the system became absolutely popular during the pandemic. It is easy to set up a fast food drive-thru at your restaurant. Figure out how your customers like to place orders, how they are likely to receive their orders, how you want to collect payments and prepare your kitchen for drive-thru orders. Don’t forget to invest in proper signage and create an easy access drive-thru menu to maximize your sale.