Why Everyone is Jumping on the QR Code Menu Bandwagon

QR code menus are all the rage these days. Both restaurants and their customers have embraced these nifty black and white barcodes. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, half of all full-service restaurant owners in the US have implemented digital menus that are accessible via QR codes. Mainstream media channels reported in August of last year that there had been a startling 750% increase in QR Code Code downloads over the preceding 18 months.

The QR Code menu, formerly an integral part of restaurants' COVID-19 safety protocol, is now a standard dining feature. QR code scanning increased by 25% and 15% in 2020 and 2021 respectively. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, Insider Intelligence forecasts that QR code scanning is expected to continue to rise year on year by 10% in 2022.

What is it about these box-shaped digital patterns that make them so popular? The QR code menu's contactless order and payment capabilities benefited restaurants. It made it possible to reopen their dining rooms after lockdowns and other limitations were relaxed. This contactless function of QR code ordering has also helped restaurants navigate the labor shortage. Thereby, providing them with the possibility of serving customers even with reduced staff. Therefore, in many ways, the QR code menu has been a lifeline for restaurants hit by the consequences of the pandemic.

However, if the purpose of the QR code ordering method was only to get around pandemic-related challenges, its use ought to have decreased by now. But as noticed, it's continuing to gain popularity, showing that there are many long-term advantages that digital restaurant menus have to offer.

Benefits of QR Code Menus

1. Brings in bigger checks

   Customers who order via QR code menus spend more. They are far more likely to opt for add-ons and extras when they order digitally. They have also professed feeling more at ease when browsing the menu and less pressured to make snap decisions. This comfort helps boost the value of the check. As QSRweb.com points out, restaurants that use QR code menus have seen a surge of as much as 22% in their average order value.

2. 1. Save money

      Printing hard-copy menus is costly. A new set must be produced every time a menu is revised thereby increasing the expense. Paper menus are incredibly expensive since even the smallest changes to the menu necessitate a complete rewrite. The only printing that needs to be done with QR code menus is of the QR code itself. No matter how many changes are made, the latest version of the menu is accessible via the same QR code. No additional printing is required, and restaurants do not have to spend anything extra. Read More

A Digital Marketer with 10+ years of experience with expertise in B2B and B2C domains.