12 Apps of Christmas

It goes without saying that the corona crisis has posed massive challenges to the on-trade throughout 2020, but it’s also seen an explosion in the opportunities that technology have brought to the sector.

Prior to the crisis, technological uptake was slow from operators across the UK, but with restrictions forced into the market, operators are starting to embrace the opportunities that technology can bring.

Ed Bedington, editor of the MA said: “Technology can offer many benefits to operators, particularly in the light of the current restrictions.

“In the past, customers have been reluctant to embrace the systems, but with the changing mindset, that’s now in the past, and pubs without systems in place to enable frictionless ordering and payment are likely to be left behind.”

To help provide some ideas and clarity to the cluttered marketplace out there, the MA has pulled together a 12 Apps of Christmas guide, showcasing 12 of the products on the market that may help you improve your operations.

1) Crave Interactive

More than just Mobile Order and Pay.

Crave Interactive are experts in mobile service solutions for pubs and clubs. Our ServeSafely solution does more than mobile order and pay - it increases sales, reduces costs and helps keep everyone safe from COVID-19.

Most importantly ServeSafely is loved by customers - over 90% find it easy to use. There is no App to download or sign-up necessary - they just point their phone cameras at a QR code, and can immediately order.

We use data intelligence together with detailed menu optimisation to improve your sales and margins. You can expect 20% higher sales and profits.

Plus we collect valuable marketing permissions for you to use to tempt customers back for further visits.

And as a Xmas gift in these difficult times, we are waiving all set-up fees for Morning Advertiser subscribers who sign up this year.

Whether you are looking to introduce mobile order and pay for the first time, or want a better solution, ServeSafely is your perfect partner.

Make 2021 a great one for your customers and your business.

Get in touch for a no-obligation demo and take advantage of our Xmas offer.

Call 0330 403 0144 or email fnyrf@penir-rzrah.pbz​ or click here​

2) Onvi

As you continually strive to innovate and adapt your business to serve your customers, you need a mobile ordering system you can depend on. Designed to be intuitive and easy to use, Onvi offers the highest levels of security and reliability on the market.

Knowing the importance of getting up-and-running quickly, Onvi has invested significant time and resource in building a first-class customer success team who are on hand every step of the way from set-up to ongoing support.

The Onvi team advises clients on how to make the most of their digital menus, helping them to understand the valuable customer insight gained from the platform. By pushing the right items, to the right customers in the right way, Onvi operators benefit from significant uplifts of around 30% on average spend vs traditional ordering.

The beauty of mobile is its versatility. Onvi works with truly innovative pubs and bars who have seen great success using the platform to adapt their businesses, offering click & collect on ready-meals, meal kits, groceries and even selling Christmas trees and gifts!

With their ever-growing portfolio of clients and volume of orders, Onvi is in a privileged position of being able to remove subscription costs and charge the lowest transaction fees. There's never been a better time to embrace the opportunities mobile Order & Pay will bring.

Get in touch with the team today and click here ​for more info.

3) Ritual

Trusted by tens of thousands of hospitality venues since 2014, Ritual now provides a web-based order & pay at table service, without the need for customers to download an app.

Customers scan a QR code, which auto adds their table number, view your menu, place and pay for their order.

Staff receive orders immediately to a phone/tablet or directly into your till system. 

The tool looks and feels like your brand and you have instant access to edit your menu. Pubs in tiers 2 and 3 can choose to enforce alcohol sales as part of a substantial meal if needed.

When a customer opts in to marketing as part of their transaction, you can download their name, email, phone number and last purchase date, helping you build a database for newsletters.

Plus, convert followers into business with Ritual’s direct integration with Facebook, Instagram and Google, so takeaway and delivery orders can be placed by customers directly within social platforms.

• Web-based
• 48 hour set up
• No commission on orders for life.
• Free until 2021
• Low monthly pay-as-you-go subscription thereafter.

For more information, click here​.

4) Yoello Order & Pay

Yoello is an award-winning mobile ordering solution providing an unrivalled user experience.

Yoello is also the only payment provider authorised and regulated by the FCA for the Open Banking legislation (PSD2) which means merchants are able to receive payments at incredibly low rates, with an instant settlement and no chargebacks.

Customers simply scan a QR code or type in a URL using any smartphone or web device to access contactless table ordering, click & collect and delivery services, without needing to download an app

The platform allows customers to conveniently order and pay for food and drinks safely from their table with no staff contact, no physical menus, no cash and no queues.

Yoello is used every day in thousands of businesses across the UK with venue owners seeing on average 20-30% increase in spend per head after switching to the platform.

Platform features:

• Customise your venue profile with bespoke branding and tailor your menu with modifiers and preferences so that customers can order what they want, exactly how they want it.
• Integrate with your POS or run it alongside your existing system, Yoello is easy to get set up and start taking orders.
• Valuable data at your fingertips through dashboard reporting tools.
• Built with security in mind, adopting the highest industry standards such as PCI DSS.
• Low transaction fees, with no hidden costs.

Find out more about the Yoello platform: www.yoello.com​

Epos Now customer? Download Epos Now Order & Pay​ (powered by Yoello) and take advantage of the introductory offer.

5) Butlr

Get the Butlr service.

Backed by the Innovate UK grant scheme, Butlr is a mobile ordering app working with pubs, bars, clubs, music venues and theatres across the country.

From its inception Butlr has focused on making the customer experience seamless, integrating with Apple and Google Pay for rapid checkout. No clunky web browsers or re-entering card details. Push notifications keep customers informed every step of their order.

For partners

• 24/7 Whatsapp Support group
• Flat 2% fee on all transactions
• No monthly cost or commitment period
• Printouts for every order - equipment included as standard
• Next working day payouts
• Table service, pickup and delivery functionality on the app, along with our unique theater mode setting.

Our Butlr portal is accessible via Google chrome; edit your menu, hide items, pull stock reports and issue refunds ad-hoc. Get setup in as little as two hours, with all admin done by Butlr.

Co-branded marketing campaigns give access to customers in your area.

For an exclusive offer get in touch and quote MA!!!

Visit https://getbutlr.com/get-in-touch/​ for more information

6) Tabology

OrderTab is the food & drink ordering app that lets customers order in seconds.

There is no app to download, customers just scan a QR code and start ordering.

OrderTab comes as a complete package with BarTab EPOS, so your front of house staff use the same system for everything. Back of house you can view consolidated sales reports, manage your menus & run promotions all from one place.

OrderTab takes advantage of all of the industry-leading features BarTab customers love, including detailed stock tracking, timed promotions, happy hours, mixers and modifiers.

You can customise the look & feel of your OrderTab app with your own colours and branding, along with high res images of your products.

OrderTab can also be accessed from a link on your website or social media pages, providing you with a commission-free alternative to the traditional delivery or click and collect services.

You can manage these options with time slots, a minimum order value, and delivery charge, and these are all available for the same competitive rates as table service starting from 1% + 10p per transaction.

If you’ve tried cumbersome downloadable apps that no one uses, stand-alone apps that are impossible to manage, or third-party integrations that are limited in functionality, talk to us about BarTab & OrderTab, the one solution you need to serve all of your customers the way they want.

For more information, click here​

7) Pints N' Bites food & drink ordering portal

Pints N’ Bites is the complete, highly customisable, food & drink ordering portal.

Currently deployed across the UK and in Europe, Pints N’ Bites includes a myriad of features to help you offer great service.

Tailor it with your own brand, your entire menu with pictures for each dish or drink, full ingredients, allergen/dietary information etc. drinks by size, with or without ice, peppercorns or whatever you offer.

You can even build your table layout into the portal, switch between language options and much more.  Do it yourself or our team can manage it for you.

Simple to use; customers access Pints N’ Bites through a dedicated web address or through their smartphone camera, scanning a QR code for the entire venue or an individual table.  Delivery can be directly to their table, to their home or wherever you allow. 

Update customers on the state of their order, when it’s ready to collect, or deliver. Receive orders on phones, tablets or an epos unit with built-in printer. Payment are taken through the portal or separately with your existing payment options/PDQ’s etc. 

Pricing is competitive and fixed fee – we don’t take commission on sales.

Manage orders simply within the portal - identify the state of each order as well as what sells or doesn’t.  Improve your marketing by creating mailing lists when customers sign up to the app and your marketing terms. Build loyalty with points or a wallet, pre-pay gift cards so customers share with friends. 

Integrate with social media to increase your reach.

For more info, visit: http://marstonstelecoms.com/pintsnbites/​

8) Pepper

Pepper is the UK’s leading provider of merchant branded apps for pubs, bars, restaurants, QSR’s and coffee chains who want to offer order and pay from table, click and collect, digital loyalty programs and a host of other essential features.

We work with household names like Young's, Revolution Bars, Brakspear, Inception, Peach Pubs, Middletons, itsu, Wahaca, GBK, Black Sheep Coffee and over 200 other companies in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and beyond in over 1000 locations.

Pepper processes over £10m per month for our clients with an average of 60% of all transactions running through their apps. Clients in the UK and US have seen transaction rates of 90-100% running through their apps and some have even attributed Pepper’s click and collect functionality to saving their businesses during Covid.

Pepper’s platform is EPOS integrated with partners like Access, Square, Micros, Lightspeed, NCR, Comtrex, Zonal and others, allowing us to develop and deliver the most powerful set of features for a cost-effective price, including discovery, ordering, loyalty, bar tab, e-receipts, push notifications, surveys, direct marketing and data analytics.

Pepper’s clients not only benefit from improved operational systems to help deal with Covid but can gather actionable data to understand their customers better while rewarding and influencing desired behaviour.

Our app users are worth 15-20% more than regular customers and combined with queue time reductions and other benefits can produce an ROI of 300%.

To schedule a demo please visit www.pepperHQ.com​ or email us at vasb@crccreUD.pbz​.

9) Storekit Order & Pay

StoreKit Order & Pay is the mobile web menu designed to get customers spending. 

Pubs are the essence of independent business in Britain. And with table ordering mandatory, you don’t need to take on more costs. Choose something which is simple, beautiful, and expressive. 

With the rest of our allocated wordcount, enjoy our poem:

 ​

The Christmas app that never was​ ​​

 After the lockdown with new Christmas cheer ​

Pubs all chose StoreKit to help them sell beer​

 ​

   A QR-code menu for mobiles, for free –​

With zero commission and no monthly fee. ​

 ​

   For brandy or whiskey or larger or schnapps​

There’s just this one problem: it isn’t an app! ​

 ​

   A “progressive web app” is a winner for sure ​

It matches apps downloaded from the app store ​

 ​

   On beauty, and speed, and on marketing too ​

It has homepage icons and push alerts – phew.​

 ​

   But no pesky downloads, no forms to fill out​

No writing out details or customer pouts​

 ​

   It’s quicker and simpler than trips to the bar  ​

It saves you on menus; it’s cheaper by far ​

 ​

   And the main reason pubs go for Order & Pay? ​

Well, customers build bigger baskets on their way.​

 ​

   That’s paved the way for fantastic reviews​

Like “five stars. Clean and simple to use” ​

 ​

   “great product”, or “spending has increased” good reviews teem​

“Very impressed with the support and responsiveness of the StoreKit team.” ​

 ​

   So. If you want your pub to go fast as a sleigh,​

Remember, it’s “StoreKit Order & Pay.”​

For more information, visit: https://storekit.com/takeaway/order​

10) Vita Mojo

This Christmas may be different to many, but pubs are still at the heart of our communities; be sure to equip your team with the technology they need to bring the festive cheer.

Deliver best-in-class customer experiences this holiday season with mobile Order & Pay, Click & Collect, Delivery, and Ecommerce from Vita Mojo.

• Boost your Christmas takings with a vibrant digital menu carefully designed to spotlight seasonal specials and festive upsells (Mulled wine, anyone?)
• Offer localised festive offers and holiday happy hours with flexible day-part menus and regional pricing zones across your pub group
• Eat, drink and be merry with instant reorder - getting that next Christmas round in has never been easier
• Diversify your revenue streams across Order & Pay, Click & Collect, Delivery, and Ecommerce for a pandemic-proof Christmas

Vita Mojo’s highly customisable ordering platform enables brands to deliver that ‘local pub’ feel with all the benefits of a smart, centralised system.

This is not a one-size-fits-all solution, Vita Mojo works closely with your team to hand-pick the right order channels, features and integrations for your unique operational needs.

Our platform integrates with your EPOS and other core functions, providing a seamless tech ecosystem with all the data you need to supercharge your business.

Get in touch today ​and let’s get your pub ready for this festive season

11) Order & Pay by Zonal

With 14 million transactions processed in September alone, Zonal’s tableside ordering solution is the most widely used and trusted on the market.

Designed exclusively for the needs of today’s pub operator, Zonal’s contactless ordering solution enables you to deliver a first-class customer experience and make significant operational efficiencies.

The pub industry’s tried, tested and trusted solution

• Contactless pay-at-table order and pay solution
• No apps, no downloads, no queues
• Fully customisable to your pub’s brand
• Real-time menu and stock availability
• Safe and secure cash-free, contactless payment
• Full EPoS integration
• No POS rekeying required, no wasted time spent on admin

Why choose Zonal?

• We develop reliable, award-winning technology that’s built to last
• Our integrated technology solutions are used by the most innovative pub brands in the UK today
• Zonal is trusted by 16,000+ UK hospitality businesses including 75% of the managed pub market
• We’re a family business, serving the pub community for over 40 years

According to the latest GO Technology report from Zonal and CGA, adoption of order and pay solutions has doubled in the past nine months, and with around half of 18-44 year-olds intending to use the technology going forward, even when COVID measures are no longer needed, order and pay is definitely here to stay.

Discover more at zonal.co.uk​

12) Ordamo

Ordamo puts the power of Order & Pay into customers’ pockets.

When a thirsty customer walks into a pub, all they need is a smartphone.

No waiting, no queuing at busy bars, and no need to download anything complicated. Alongside a QR code, it’s as simple as: scan, order, and pay.

This guest journey is new, but we have extensive experience of state-of-the-art ordering.

We grew out of Inamo, the award-winning London restaurant group which boasts the world’s first interactive ordering system, with menus beamed onto tables.

Our hospitality background means we are driven by real-world insights and tech-innovation: pioneering, proven software has matured into today’s cloud-based platform.

Supported by a series of EPOS integrations and our tablet-based solution, we work with an exceptional variety of clients, from international hotel chains to student unions and pub groups.

Ordamo offers the most frictionless option for operators preparing for Christmas. You can:

• Get going with no hassle. We make the onboarding process as easy as possible: our dedicated team will build your branded festive menu for you. No set up or monthly fees, just a small transaction fee.
• Optimise the order-to-fulfilment process. Pinch points of service are improved by streamlined operations and increased staff productivity.
• Unlock and diversify revenue streams. Increased average transaction value is complemented by our takeaway module, enabling maximum profits, even in Tier 3.
• Bring operations into the cloud era. Data analytics leads to unlimited opportunities, from better inventory to targeted selling.

Find out more at https://www.ordamo.com/​