Uber Eats for Restaurants - A Complete Guide

Convenience is everything for the modern consumer. These days, everything is available online and for home delivery, whether it is groceries, home goods, clothes, or even cars. For restaurants, this easy availability is both a challenge and a boon. While there is added competition with many restaurants offering home delivery, there is great potential to tap into the home delivery market.

Restaurants in the past would have had to invest in delivery drivers, vehicles, and extra personnel to manage home delivery orders. Now, with services like Uber Eats any restaurant can conveniently add on home delivery capabilities without making any kind of major investment. Uber Eats itself manages all the deliveries, drivers, and vehicles.

In addition, Uber Eats helps you tap into an extended customer pool. The size of your restaurant is no constraint when it comes to success on Uber Eats. Achieving success and positive ratings on Uber Eats will further help you in branding and bringing customers to your restaurant directly.

What is Uber Eats?

Uber Eats is a third party food delivery service launched by famous cab aggregator Uber in 2014. Utilising the massive framework of Uber, this new food delivery platform was able to grow at a rapid pace. Now, Uber Eats is available in 45 countries across more than 6,000 cities with new areas regularly added to the network.

The Uber Eats platform partners with restaurants locally to offer consumers home delivery services at a minimal cost. Since Uber Eats has its own drivers that they hire and train, the restaurants can focus on food preparation without worrying about managing the deliveries.

Why Do Consumers Prefer Uber Eats?

Although there are several food delivery apps available in the market, Uber Eats has retained its number one position by having the maximum number of downloads worldwide. In 2019, there were approximately 21 million monthly active users of Uber Eats.

The delivery app itself is easy to use, all consumers need to do is download the app, and enter their personal details such as name, address and payment choices. On the basis of the address, Uber Eats identifies restaurants within a delivery radius that are partnered with the delivery app.

The Uber Eats interface shows all the restaurant details, such as the name of the restaurant, approximate cost, cuisine options, delivery time frame and ratings from other users of the app. An order can be placed with the restaurant directly through Uber Eats and payment can also be completed from the app. An estimated delivery time is provided by the app and consumers can track the order status as well. Once the order is complete, users can rate the restaurant and delivery.

Benefit of Using Uber Eats for Restaurants

It might seem counter intuitive for a restaurant to effectively outsource food delivery and pay another delivery service a cut of their income. However, there are a plethora of benefits for restaurants that most restaurateurs have found outweigh the small service charges.

Nearly 60 percent of restaurants partnered with Uber Eats have witnessed a boost to their sales without having to invest in expanding capacity. As a result, the overhead costs are the same and revenue is increased.

Here are some of the benefits you can gain as a restaurant with Uber Eats:

• Gain new customers

Make the most out of the fame that Uber Eats already enjoys. By partnering with Uber Eats, your restaurant will gain added visibility to consumers in the deliverable vicinity, bringing new customers to your brand. Particularly if your restaurant is new, Uber Eats is free advertising and can entice your customers to visit your restaurant physically as well. Many consumers, for example, people working in offices or college students depend heavily upon delivered food as they don’t have time to visit a restaurant personally.

• Sales during downtimes

Every business faces down time at one point or another. Maybe it is just after lunch time or early evenings before dinner, or Monday mornings. Whichever time it is that your consumers aren’t able to reach you, through Uber Eats you can reach out to more consumers. You can experiment with items and dishes, even launch promotional codes for Uber Eats specifically, helping draw in consumers when otherwise business would have been slow.

• Fast orders

Taking orders in a restaurant takes time, no matter how efficient the staff is. If you take into account the many customers who request changes to the standard menu, that means more time lost. With an app interface, order management is simplified, made faster and more efficient. Consumers can take their time on the app menu, specify their needs and then send the order. As a restaurant, you get the final order, saving time and effort.

• Market for promotional deals

Typically, any promotion deal or campaign will need advertising to bring it to the attention of consumers. However, with Uber Eats, you can instantly and cost-effectively develop and try out new promotional deals. Since you already have a platform to reach consumers, there are a variety of promotions you can try, and even launch loyalty programs for regular customers. Uber Eats as a functional way to affordably try out new promotional strategies for your restaurant.

• Improve branding

Uber Eats increases the visibility, branding, service area and customer base for your restaurant. In a chain reaction of sorts, the better you serve customers on Uber Eats, the better ratings you will get, further bringing more customers. Whether you want to expand and open a franchise one day, or simply become known as a one-location culinary marvel, branding is key. After all, that is how your restaurant gains fame and recognition, more customers, and more profits.

Also Read - Restaurant POS System - The Complete Buyer’s Guide

How Can a restaurant Partner with Uber Eats?

Once you make the decision to become a partner of Uber Eats, the process is straightforward and simple, taking only a few days. First, sign up for the Uber Eats partnership programme, share information about the restaurant and then upload the menu. There will be a one-time activation fee and you will receive a welcome kit with a tablet and restaurant software. Carry out a photoshoot of your restaurant and dishes to accompany the menu and you are set. Customers can view the menu on Uber Eats and place orders.

All the Uber Eat orders will reach the restaurant through the provided tablet and a delivery person will come pick up the order when its complete to take it to the customer. Payments are completed through the Uber Eats app where a service fee in the form of a percentage goes to Uber Eats.

Uber Eats Compatible POS Hardware

For any restaurant, a natural concern will be how to manage the direct restaurant orders along with Uber Eats orders. A simple solution is to opt for Uber Eats compatible POS hardware. A POS system has become a vital part of any business that interacts directly with consumers. An effective POS system can help you place orders, manage inventory, employee management, analytics and more.

A dedicated POS system for a restaurant comes with added functionalities to support the unique needs of a restaurant. For example, managing ingredient inventories, coupons, several payment modes, dietary specifications, and customisations to an order. With a minimal investment, you can choose a POS system that is compatible with Uber Eats.

Uber Eats compatible POS hardware will help you better manage the orders that come through the Uber Eats service. As a result, you get seamless operations and can effectively manage both streams of incoming operations. Your Uber Eats compatible printer will print your orders without interfering with your restaurant operations.

Good quality POS hardware is built to last and once you make the initial investment, you can reap the benefits for years to come. It’s clear from the success of Uber Eats that the delivery platform is here to stay. Uber Eats compatible POS hardware will help you maximise your restaurants output without putting a strain on back end resources.

Conclusion

Home delivery is the new frontier in retail, and that most definitely includes food delivery. Avoid the hassles of managing delivery teams and gain added visibility and a greater customer pool with Uber Eats. With so many consumers turning to Uber Eats to order food, it is an arena that you should capitalise on. A great platform, you can experiment endlessly with new dishes, items, and promotions. Use Uber Eats compatible POS hardware for an integrated system so that you can effectively manage restaurant and app orders.

At POS Plaza you can find dedicated POS hardware that is Uber Eats compatible. Our dedicated range for industry-specific POS systems ensures that you find the best match for your needs. With an excellent POS system, you set up your business for success in the long term. Apart from products, our experts have in-depth knowledge of POS solutions and have helped hundreds of restaurateurs in Australia find their ideal POS systems. Reach out for assistance today!