Consumers' Restaurant-Related Online Activities, October 2013 [CHART]

Consumers' Restaurant-Related Online Activities, October 2013 [CHART]

High levels of convenience and efficiency have always been part of the dining-out proposition—speed
rules most restaurant segments—but now digital technologies, led by smartphones and tablets, are fueling an even greater push for immediacy, according to a new eMarketer report, “US Restaurant Sector: Digital Ordering and Mobile Payment Trends.”

While it still has a ways to go before becoming truly commonplace, online ordering, whether through desktop, mobile web, branded apps or third parties like Seamless, has been growing in popularity.

In an October 2013 study of US consumers conducted by the National Restaurant Association, 23% of survey respondents had ordered food using a smartphone or tablet in the past month. The number who had ordered food online via desktop was likely higher but was included as part of a question about not only ordering but also viewing menus and making reservations—to which 41% of respondents said they had done any of the three. Read the rest at eMarketer.