Will App Ordering Continue Post Lockdown

With Covid-19 restrictions set to ease later this month, will app ordering become obsolete?

17:27 06 July 2021

The scrum at the bar has been rendered obsolete due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, restrictions are expected to ease later this month, which means that table service may return for good. This begs the question, will mobile ordering stay or will be totally scrapped out? 

 

Jobe Ferguson, who runs a number of bars in Manchester and the North East, said: "Our sales have been terrific. For outside areas, I think it's just easier for people. They don't have to get up, trek inside and it cuts out the bar element. It's better for the customer." 

 

He observed that "people spend more sitting down" and offers two likely explanations: "When someone orders a beer then decides to perhaps order a tequila - they'll normally just get the house choice. But with the app, they'll see something costs more and order that instead." 

 

JDW spokesman Eddie Gerson says that app ordering has "worked brilliantly". He added: "We are looking forward to serving customers at the bar, but still expect table to be an important feature of our pubs for now and the future."

 

Thom Hetherington, CEO of exhibition and awards platform Northern Restaurant & Bar (NRB), weighed in and says there may be a mismatch in operator-consumer preferences. 

 

"There would be a slightly awkward situation where customers enjoyed being able to order their tables - no more scrums at the bar and jostling elbows- but operators have struggled to foot the additional bill and may want to recent to a more sustainable model."