The coronavirus pandemic is changing how so many businesses operate — and restaurants have been particularly hard hit.
As restaurant begin returning to offering dine in options as permitted by state and local regulations, one way they can save money and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 that could lead to further restaurant shutdowns is by switching to contactless digital menus that customers access via a QR code.
A touchless menu is an entirely digital menu that customers access and read on their own personal mobile devices, eliminating one of the most common touchpoints in the dining out experience.
It also means that restaurants can save money and help the environment by relying less on single use paper menus that have been suggested by some health experts as an alternative to laminated or multi-use menus that need to be cleaned each time.
Contactless menus typically work by having customers scan a QR code with their mobile device’s camera or QR reader app, which triggers a digital version of the menu to be opened in the mobile phone browser. The best kind of contactless menus don’t require users to download or install any additional apps or add ons — and let the customer start reviewing the menu right away.
Contactless menus also have the advantage of being able to be updated at any time — including in real time. This means a restaurant owner can 86 an item from the menu if it’s temporarily not available.
Changing prices, eliminating items or adding new offerings with a digital contactless menu is also easy — and doesn’t require spending money on expensive printing costs each time a change is made.