Who Really Uses Online Ordering?

We’ve spent a lot of time here on the Orders2Me blog talking about how much value online ordering provides to customers, but that focus on customer experience begs the question: what do online ordering customers look like?  To some extent, your online ordering customer base will be related to your regular, in person diners.  But there will be some major differences in the demographic breakdown of your online ordering customer base as well, and it can be hard to pin down exactly what a “typical” online ordering customer looks like as the number and type of online ordering customers keeps growing.  Here’s a quick breakdown of who really uses online ordering.

1. Millennials and Other Young Diners

As just about every business owner out there devises new ways to engage young customers, you can be sure that millennials and other young diners make up a large percentage of the pool of online ordering customers.  It has been widely noted that young consumers are using their phones to interact with the world more than they are using computers, and the ease of ordering food directly from a smartphone is one of those modern conveniences that millennials just can’t get enough of.  Even as market dynamics change, and more and more people try out online ordering for the first time, you can expect millennials to be an important segment of your online ordering customer base.  These younger consumers are known for being early adopters of technology, and when you are talking about a tech function as convenient and user friendly as online ordering, you can expect millennials to stick around.

2. Busy Business Owners and Executives

One thing is true of just about all business owners, managers, and executives, no matter how big of a company you’re looking at: these power players need more time, and are constantly looking for ways to save a few extra hours or minutes per day.  And as the ease of use and convenience of online ordering becomes more and more well known, big spending customers like executives and business owners are getting on board and adopting the time saving technology.  Online ordering makes it easy to order lunch with the click of a button, or get that meeting that is running over time catered in a matter of minutes.  With it’s focus on convenience, and flexible and responsive interface that makes ordering for delivery or pick-up a breeze, a good online ordering system is becoming one of the go-to technologies that busy business owners and executives rely on.

3. Customers with Mobility Issues

For a long time, those who loved fine dining but had mobility issues which prevented easily visiting a restaurant were in a bind, as the types of establishments that have traditionally been known for delivering food haven’t always been held in the highest quality regards.  But these days, there’s a lot more out there for delivery than pizza or cheap chinese, and hungry diners with mobility issues can take advantage of all of the many restaurants that offer delivery options.  Online ordering not only makes it easy for people who can’t get out to enjoy world class dining, it provides a whole lot of convenience to regular delivery diners who can see all of their options at their fingertips.  While this demographic may not make up a huge percentage of your online ordering customer base, it’s just another example of the types of customers that benefit from online ordering technology.

4. Professionals with Long Hours

For parents who work long hours, sometimes the most stressful question of the day is the chorus of “what’s for dinner?”  that you can always expect from hungry children.  But online ordering makes it easy for professionals with oppressively busy lives to still provide high quality eats for the whole family, as the convenience of online ordering allows parents and others to fill the house with exciting food at the click of a button.  Even professionals without other hungry mouths to feed love online ordering, since it allows anyone who works too hard to eat a whole lot more easily.  With an online ordering application, busy professionals can put in their delivery orders from their favorite restaurants before leaving work, and come home to a bountiful feast.  That’s the kind of convenience that has won professionals with long hours over, and will keep this profitable demographic using online ordering technologies in the future.

5. Your Average Customer

Curious what your average online ordering customer looks like?  Just take a look at your average, in-person customer!  True, online ordering appeals in a big way to younger, busier diners, but just about any customer can find tremendous value in the convenience of online ordering technology.  With the proper outreach and a little time, everyone who eats at your restaurant can become a fan of online ordering, and enjoy your food even more often and easily.