Mobile ordering apps allow customers to place orders from anywhere at any time, eliminating the need to wait in long lines or be physically present at a restaurant or store.
They save time by enabling pre-orders for meals or products, reducing the wait time to manage upon arrival.
When you know what they are and how the best ones can create new profit-making opportunities, mobile ordering apps could be the investment you need in 2024.
What Are Mobile App Ordering Systems?
These digital platforms or apps allow customers to place orders from a smartphone or another mobile device. They have become increasingly popular in the food and beverage industry. Still, they are also present in hospitality, retail, and other service-based environments.
The primary purpose of mobile app ordering systems is to streamline the ordering process, enhance customer convenience, and improve overall operational efficiency for businesses.
Since the features and functionality of each ordering app are different, it is essential to review each platform to ensure it can meet your personal needs.
The Parameters Used for Ranking Mobile Ordering Apps
Online ordering is simplified with today’s best apps. We looked at several data points for each platform to see how effectively it can reach that goal.
Here is a look at the specific metrics we used to evaluate each app. Then we took the overall experience of each to create a list of the seven best choices available for download today.
- Payment Options. Mobile app ordering systems typically support various payment methods, including mobile wallets and digital payment platforms.
- Convenience. Some apps allow customers to track the status of their orders in real time, gaining transparency into the preparation and delivery process. We look at the user experience (UX) from start to finish to ensure smooth and consistent operations.
- Customisation. Can you create personal orders according to your specific preferences, ask for special requests, or meet a particular dietary restriction?
- Efficiency. Mobile app ordering systems should reduce wait times and congestion in physical locations, allowing businesses to serve more customers. Is the app up to the challenge of meeting someone’s needs within a desirable timeframe?
- Security. The app should meet or exceed the expectations of all current data privacy laws. There should be protections for any payment information the platform stores to facilitate transactions.
What Are the Best 7 Mobile Ordering Apps in the UK for 2024?
If you like the convenience of a mobile app ordering system, these options are the best to use in 2024.
Top Choice: Grafterr
Today’s best mobile ordering apps tend to fall into one of two categories. On the one hand, you have practical online ordering features that allow restaurants to communicate more effectively with a broader customer base.
On the other hand, you have apps that let you publish a branded product for a restaurant. Grafterr is the top choice because these services are provided for free.
This online ordering system for small business entities ticks each box in our evaluation matrix. It offers point of sale, payments, and QR mobile order and pay opportunities to simplify transactions.
It’s a practical and affordable solution for dark kitchens or cafés. Bars and pubs can tap into new markets, while food trucks can keep working with app-based orders when in-person traffic slows.
2. Hungrrr
This app simplifies the creation process by allowing almost any restaurant owner to develop a custom platform. The software is relatively easy to use. If you run into any trouble, the support staff quickly help.
It can serve as a standalone asset or an extension of your existing online shop. The platform requires development work instead of being a plug-and-play restaurant online ordering system, so plan accordingly.
The entire process is easy to set up. You’ll find the platform to be extremely reliable. The only issue is the speed of payments since cash flow is crucial to many restaurants and those offering takeaway service.
3. Slerp
With Slerp, you have an online ordering app that focuses on a click-and-collect delivery experience. The goal is to drive orders and generate repeat business with its intuitive UX.
Once adopted, you can offer unlimited same-day and future pre-orders. It quickly organises deliveries for local, regional or national requests. You’ll set your delivery areas and the methods you prefer within a few minutes.
Then you can add the courier partners who deliver your brand experience.
This mobile ordering app is more for a longtime business or a well-established brand than a startup. It allows you to bring more innovation to an existing online business. In return, you can seamlessly add point-of-sale and payments to simplify the ordering processes.
4. App4
The best online ordering system for restaurants should strive to deliver a complete marketing, loyalty, delivery and payments solution. With this choice, you have control over the entire transaction.
You get to maximise staff efficiency without worrying about paying commissions. That means there is more time to find ways to grow your profits.
Although it feels like a custom service, App4 does use a similar foundation for each client. You receive an individually branded product with your colours and images.
Working with this online ordering app makes sense if you have staff shortages or want to turn the tables faster. By offering QR code order and pay, customers can browse the menu and initiate a transaction without staff interactions.
You can even process your online and in-store orders from the all-in-one dashboard you receive through the mobile app.
5. Flipdish
This online ordering system for business ventures throughout the hospitality sector emphasises automation. It offers one of the best customer service experiences in the industry today, standing by your side to ensure the mobile platform works as intended.
You receive an affordable turn-key service, allowing new businesses to benefit from its features.
What would help Flipdish be even better is to enhance its reporting features. You’ll need to manually extract or sort that data if you have different income streams that report under unique brackets.
The system does well with full refunds but can be stubborn when initiating a partial one.
6. OrderPay
OrderPay breaks down the mobile ordering experience into four separate categories; Order and Pay, Pay and Go, Click and Collect, and Data and Analytics.
Each service provides the expected result. You can drive more revenues and take orders in advance while being ready for collection through timely processes. It delivers faster ordering for our customers while making your team more efficient.
The most admirable feature is the suggested pairings. Offering customers this upsell tempts them to add something to enhance the value of your brand experience. Think about adding a side with a burger or chicken wings to a pizza slice, but with automation.
Cost is individualised, so the only way to know what to expect is to contact the company directly. If you’re a larger restaurant or operation, the improvements in table turns and customer time efficiency could be enough to create a profitable outcome.
7. Yoello
You’ll access a web-based app with this product, simplifying the need for on-site resources. It allows customers to order food or drinks when visiting your location.
The navigation is somewhat intuitive, although the system feels a little outdated and clunky. Once you get beyond the UX, the idea behind this platform is helpful. If you remember what the internet was like in 1999, it will feel a lot like that when a customer tries to place an order.
Yoello is popular for pubs and bars because it integrates a track and trace system. Once you reach the venue or table, scan the QR code to see a specific page for where you’re at.
The data entry process is a bit inconvenient for customers wanting to order multiple dishes. It also needs help to put together transactions when multiple vendors are required while working from the root location.
Google Pay integration is included. Customers who don’t use that option must enter their card details for each transaction.
Trends in Mobile Technology and How They Impact App Ordering Systems
All mobile restaurant apps tend to focus on one or two specific trends to deliver the most value possible for customers. That approach avoids being spread too thin while still offering choices.
Mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay enable seamless and secure payment transactions within the apps. These assets open the door to possible cryptocurrency integration as an alternative to a restaurant online ordering system.
Voice search and natural language processing integrations enable customers to place orders using voice commands, making it a hands-free and user-friendly experience.
As environmental consciousness grows, food delivery systems look to integrate features that enable customers to make eco-friendly choices, such as selecting minimal packaging or choosing locally sourced ingredients.
A final thought on using an online takeaway ordering system
By placing orders directly through an app, customers can reduce the chances of miscommunication or errors with verbal communication. Many offer rewards, discounts, and loyalty programs that can lead to cost savings for regular customers.
Mobile ordering apps might not be right for you today, but this technology is the future of the food and hospitality sector. It could be tomorrow’s best solution!
By downloading or using the best choice for your needs, you’ll take the next step forward to having your brand and business be a leader in delivering valuable outcomes to your customers.
