Restaurants will be able to customize the app with their name and logo. |Photo courtesy of Toast
Restaurant technology supplier Toast is now enabling business owners of all sizes to build their own mobile apps.
This new tool is part of Toast’s fall product release, which also includes text message marketing. Both features are designed to help restaurants build a direct relationship with their customers.
Restaurants of all sizes can choose to launch a white-label app through Toast and customize it with colors, branding, and images. These apps integrate with Toast’s online ordering, POS, and loyalty systems. It also allows restaurants to send push notifications, which helps improve average check amounts through suggestions and upsells.
Why add a mobile app when you already offer online ordering? Data from Toast shows that customers who order through a brand’s app are more likely to become repeat customers than those who order through a website. It has been shown to be 4 times more likely.
For 10-piece pizza chain Slim & Husky’s, the app makes ordering more convenient for customers and “puts our brand right at their fingertips,” said Courtney Gray, director of customer experience. said in a statement.
The majority of major restaurant chains have mobile apps. But the technology is also becoming more accessible to small businesses through suppliers like Toast and DoorDash. Announces unique mobile app program last month.
Toast also launched SMS marketing, which allows restaurants to text promotions and news to customers. Messages can be automated in advance or created on the fly with help from an AI assistant.
“We love being able to communicate with people that day,” said Jason Walbranski, general manager of Dog & Bull Taphouse & Kitchen in Croydon, Pennsylvania. “If it’s a busy day, send out a promotion like ‘$5 off your bill’ or ‘get a free appetizer when you show this message.’ I know it’s working because I see it.”
Dog & Bull also runs automated campaigns in the background, which Walbranski said generates an average of $34 for each text sent.
The mobile app is part of the Toast Digital Storefront Suite premium tier, which costs $299 per month. SMS Marketing is part of the Marketing Essentials Suite, which costs $185 per month.
These are two of the most requested features by Toast customers, said co-founder and president Steve Fredette.
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