Digital technologies are reshaping China's traditional catering industry, as large catering enterprises are increasingly investing in digitalization and small and medium-sized companies ramp up efforts in digital transformation, a recent report said.
The report mentioned that no matter which type of business mode, or what kind of cuisine, the driving force for the rapid growth of catering chain stores is digital transformation. The digitalization trend in the catering industry is gaining momentum (势头). And it is indeed necessary for catering entrepreneurs to spend more time considering it.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed that China's catering industry totaled nearly 4 trillion yuan in business in 2020, and digital catering took up an increasing share. In recent years, a great number of catering chain stores have been embracing digitalization.
Some restaurants have now adopted a new system, namely Insight Knowledge Management System, to conduct real-time monitoring, management, and maintenance of their entire unmanned back-stage operations. From ordering to serving, the dishes are produced automatically. It is said that the system can save nearly 37 percent of kitchen labor costs.
It is reported that China's digital catering industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. In 2021, online food orders surged by 107.9 percent. And now, the online and offline integrated development of the catering industry has become a general trend, reshaping both the supply and demand sides.
Market research has shown that online ordering methods such as takeaway platforms, catering platforms, and some restaurants' self-built online ordering platforms have further opened up the digital development imagination of catering enterprises, and promoted their accelerated migration online. How to embrace the online and offline integrated scenario, offer services to numerous customers online and extend the service range from within 100 meters to over 10 kilometers, is a new proposition for catering enterprises.
An independent expert in digital catering said that digital transformation is an inevitable trend in the catering industry since digital marketing helps enterprises capture consumers' demands and collect user data. It also enables enterprises to deal with and satisfy consumers' needs in a quicker manner, which is increasingly important in a fast-paced society. Meanwhile, to realize digitalization, catering enterprises should make smart use of customer data, form a real-time response mechanism, and have artificial intelligence-empowered automatic services. Their ability to handle data will be their core competitiveness.
4. What is most likely to make an enterprise stand out in the digital catering industry, according to the expert?