Top POS News from May: Domino's Twitter Ordering, Uber-like Delivery for Pizza Hut and NRA Show Rollouts in Mobile POS Make Headlines
The point of sale landscape saw some exciting next-generation movement in the month of May. Major restaurant companies announced forward-thinking POS strategies to appeal to modern diners. From Domino’s adding Twitter ordering to their customer-facing options to McDonald’s testing on-demand delivery and Pizza Hut experimenting with Uber-like delivery, foodservice operators are looking for ways to make the POS appeal to today’s connected, on-the-go consumer. If you missed any of these stories – and more – check them out here in the May POS Recap.
LATEST IN POS IMPLEMENTATIONS
McDonald's to Test On-Demand Delivery in NYC
Customers in New York City will soon be able to enjoy the McDonald's food they love when and where they want it with the launch of a McDonald's delivery test with Postmates, a direct-to-consumer delivery service. Customers in select boroughs can go to Postmates.com or download the Postmates mobile app (available for iOS and Android) to order their favorite McDonald's food for delivery within an hour. The test involves 88 select McDonald's restaurants in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.
Domino's to Launch Ordering Via Twitter
According to several reports, Domino’s will be launching Twitter-ordering. CNN Money is reporting that starting on May 20, Domino’s Twitter followers will be able to tweet the company to have orders delivered. USA Today states that Domino's "tweet-to-order" system for U.S. customers will make Domino’s the first major player in the restaurant industry to use Twitter on an ongoing basis to place and complete an order.
Pizza Hut to Test Uber-Like Delivery
Pizza Hut plans to roll out a delivery test at 75 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area dubbed Pizza Hut Nav (short for navigation), where most consumers will be able to track their delivery drivers — and their pizzas — on a map from the time of order until the driver shows up on their street. The delivery test is with Postmates, the same third-party delivery service that Starbucks recently said it also will use in a Seattle delivery test later this year.
The Melting Pot to Introduce Tablet-Based Ordering Nationwide
The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. has announced plans to introduce NorthStar Order Entry, the tablet-based omni-channel ordering system developed by Custom Business Solutions, Inc. (CBS), in all of its 125+ U.S. restaurants, as well as some international locations.
Food Truck Drives Profits with Mobile POS
Puerta al Paraiso, an Indiana-based food truck, has implemented NCR Silver™, cloud-based point-of-sale system, to help grow its food truck business. Food trucks are one of the fastest-growing segments for NCR Silver. In addition to ringing up sales, NCR Silver offers back-office technology to run an entire food truck business – from integrating customer loyalty to automating different tax rates.
Chili's Deploys Digital Loyalty Program Across 800 Locations Nationwide
Chili's® Grill & Bar is introducing a state-of-the-art loyalty program, My Chili's Rewards, which leverages technology, personalization and gamification to make earning and redeeming points easier and more engaging than ever before. Available at the brand's more than 800 company-owned restaurants nationwide beginning May 18, My Chili's Rewards provides a fully digital experience where guests can use the Ziosk® tablet on their restaurant table or the Chili's app on their mobile phone to sign up and track points and the table top technology to redeem points in restaurant real-time.
HOT TECH ROLLOUTS & ADVANCEMENTS
Update Allows Direct Connection from POS to QuickBooks without Double Data Entry
TouchSuite, has announced that its highly-advanced Firefly point of sale systems are now equipped to support the company’s newly-acquired processing solution, Lightning Payments. As one of the only payment processors in the country integrated with QuickBooks®, Lightning Payments provides QuickBooks accounting software users with a direct connection from firefly POS systems to QuickBooks without the hassle of double data entry and with full PCI compliance.
2015 Point of Sale Tech Showcase
The point of sale is a top investment areas for restaurants with a third of foodservice IT budgets allotted to POS tech. HT’s annual POS Showcase updates buyers on the latest hardware and software releases. This year’s installation highlights new offerings in mobile, cloud-based and integrated solutions, plus much more.
Ingenico Group Adds Vantiv's EMV-certified Application to Smart Terminals
Vantiv, Inc. and Ingenico Group have announced the addition of Vantiv’s EMV-certified processing application on Ingenico Group’s smart terminal solution set for small- and medium-sized merchants. The Vantiv processing application offers the latest fraud and security features, including EMV and Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) designed to help merchants reduce chargeback liability following the October liability shift. Combined with the terminal, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will be able to accept virtually any kind of payment, including: EMV chip and PIN, EMV chip and signature, magnetic stripe, and contactless via NFC, including Apple Pay.
POS NEWS FROM 2015 NRA SHOW
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: NCR Unveils Mobile POS Solution for the Hospitality Industry
NCR Corporation has announced the North American launch of the NCR Orderman7, its newest mobile point-of-sale (POS) solution. Orderman7 handheld devices create efficiencies, boost productivity and reshape the guest experience. Employees are able to take orders and payment at the table or in-seats at theaters, to line-bust during peak traffic periods and to quickly and easily serve guests in bars and nightclubs.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: OpenTable App Integrates with NCR Aloha POS to Offer Mobile Payments
NCR Corporation and OpenTable, part of The Priceline Group, have announced they have integrated OpenTable’s ‘Pay with OpenTable’ app with the NCR Aloha point-of-sale solution via the NCR Hosted Application Protocol Interface (API) platform. The NCR Hosted API Platform is a cloud-based gateway that allows third parties to integrate, maintain and deploy their services across NCR’s installed base of point-of-sale systems. This cloud offering allows payments through the OpenTable app to be tightly integrated into the NCR Aloha point-of-sale solution.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: Mobile Payment Survey Sees Growing Opportunity for Restaurants
At the NRA Show 2015, the annual gathering of the National Restaurant Association, Harbortouch published the results of a recent survey investigating the changing attitudes consumers have toward mobile payments technology. The results of the survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, fielded in April 2015, examined the current state of mobile payment adoption, and demonstrated a shift in consumers' comfort level and acceptance, with a greater focus on interface and experience. Findings include: Out of seven categories, including entertainment and retail, one in four people chose the restaurant industry as the most likely to widely adopt mobile payments in the near future.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: Integrated Solution Brings Enhanced Pre-Ordering Benefits to Restaurants and Patrons
Epson America, Inc. has announced that Wait List Ordering LLC, a provider of white labeled mobile software solutions for restaurants' wait list and reservations, has selected Epson's Omnilink® TM-T88V-i and OmniLink TM-T20II-i intelligent printers for their unique ePOS™ Print and Server Direct Print technologies to manage restaurant reservations and pre-orders.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: Digital Dining Announces New Mobile Pay Capability Powered by MyCheck
Menusoft Systems, the owners of Digital Dining Point of Sale Software and MyCheck have announced a complete integration into Digital Dining point-of-sale software for quick service and full service restaurants. In line with the company’s capacity to develop branded apps for restaurant groups and chains, MyCheck is also creating the new DDpay App for Digital Dining, which incorporates online ordering and loyalty capabilities in addition to payment.
LATEST IN POS IMPLEMENTATIONS
McDonald's to Test On-Demand Delivery in NYC
Customers in New York City will soon be able to enjoy the McDonald's food they love when and where they want it with the launch of a McDonald's delivery test with Postmates, a direct-to-consumer delivery service. Customers in select boroughs can go to Postmates.com or download the Postmates mobile app (available for iOS and Android) to order their favorite McDonald's food for delivery within an hour. The test involves 88 select McDonald's restaurants in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.
Domino's to Launch Ordering Via Twitter
According to several reports, Domino’s will be launching Twitter-ordering. CNN Money is reporting that starting on May 20, Domino’s Twitter followers will be able to tweet the company to have orders delivered. USA Today states that Domino's "tweet-to-order" system for U.S. customers will make Domino’s the first major player in the restaurant industry to use Twitter on an ongoing basis to place and complete an order.
Pizza Hut to Test Uber-Like Delivery
Pizza Hut plans to roll out a delivery test at 75 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area dubbed Pizza Hut Nav (short for navigation), where most consumers will be able to track their delivery drivers — and their pizzas — on a map from the time of order until the driver shows up on their street. The delivery test is with Postmates, the same third-party delivery service that Starbucks recently said it also will use in a Seattle delivery test later this year.
The Melting Pot to Introduce Tablet-Based Ordering Nationwide
The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. has announced plans to introduce NorthStar Order Entry, the tablet-based omni-channel ordering system developed by Custom Business Solutions, Inc. (CBS), in all of its 125+ U.S. restaurants, as well as some international locations.
Food Truck Drives Profits with Mobile POS
Puerta al Paraiso, an Indiana-based food truck, has implemented NCR Silver™, cloud-based point-of-sale system, to help grow its food truck business. Food trucks are one of the fastest-growing segments for NCR Silver. In addition to ringing up sales, NCR Silver offers back-office technology to run an entire food truck business – from integrating customer loyalty to automating different tax rates.
Chili's Deploys Digital Loyalty Program Across 800 Locations Nationwide
Chili's® Grill & Bar is introducing a state-of-the-art loyalty program, My Chili's Rewards, which leverages technology, personalization and gamification to make earning and redeeming points easier and more engaging than ever before. Available at the brand's more than 800 company-owned restaurants nationwide beginning May 18, My Chili's Rewards provides a fully digital experience where guests can use the Ziosk® tablet on their restaurant table or the Chili's app on their mobile phone to sign up and track points and the table top technology to redeem points in restaurant real-time.
HOT TECH ROLLOUTS & ADVANCEMENTS
Update Allows Direct Connection from POS to QuickBooks without Double Data Entry
TouchSuite, has announced that its highly-advanced Firefly point of sale systems are now equipped to support the company’s newly-acquired processing solution, Lightning Payments. As one of the only payment processors in the country integrated with QuickBooks®, Lightning Payments provides QuickBooks accounting software users with a direct connection from firefly POS systems to QuickBooks without the hassle of double data entry and with full PCI compliance.
2015 Point of Sale Tech Showcase
The point of sale is a top investment areas for restaurants with a third of foodservice IT budgets allotted to POS tech. HT’s annual POS Showcase updates buyers on the latest hardware and software releases. This year’s installation highlights new offerings in mobile, cloud-based and integrated solutions, plus much more.
Ingenico Group Adds Vantiv's EMV-certified Application to Smart Terminals
Vantiv, Inc. and Ingenico Group have announced the addition of Vantiv’s EMV-certified processing application on Ingenico Group’s smart terminal solution set for small- and medium-sized merchants. The Vantiv processing application offers the latest fraud and security features, including EMV and Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) designed to help merchants reduce chargeback liability following the October liability shift. Combined with the terminal, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will be able to accept virtually any kind of payment, including: EMV chip and PIN, EMV chip and signature, magnetic stripe, and contactless via NFC, including Apple Pay.
POS NEWS FROM 2015 NRA SHOW
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: NCR Unveils Mobile POS Solution for the Hospitality Industry
NCR Corporation has announced the North American launch of the NCR Orderman7, its newest mobile point-of-sale (POS) solution. Orderman7 handheld devices create efficiencies, boost productivity and reshape the guest experience. Employees are able to take orders and payment at the table or in-seats at theaters, to line-bust during peak traffic periods and to quickly and easily serve guests in bars and nightclubs.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: OpenTable App Integrates with NCR Aloha POS to Offer Mobile Payments
NCR Corporation and OpenTable, part of The Priceline Group, have announced they have integrated OpenTable’s ‘Pay with OpenTable’ app with the NCR Aloha point-of-sale solution via the NCR Hosted Application Protocol Interface (API) platform. The NCR Hosted API Platform is a cloud-based gateway that allows third parties to integrate, maintain and deploy their services across NCR’s installed base of point-of-sale systems. This cloud offering allows payments through the OpenTable app to be tightly integrated into the NCR Aloha point-of-sale solution.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: Mobile Payment Survey Sees Growing Opportunity for Restaurants
At the NRA Show 2015, the annual gathering of the National Restaurant Association, Harbortouch published the results of a recent survey investigating the changing attitudes consumers have toward mobile payments technology. The results of the survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, fielded in April 2015, examined the current state of mobile payment adoption, and demonstrated a shift in consumers' comfort level and acceptance, with a greater focus on interface and experience. Findings include: Out of seven categories, including entertainment and retail, one in four people chose the restaurant industry as the most likely to widely adopt mobile payments in the near future.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: Integrated Solution Brings Enhanced Pre-Ordering Benefits to Restaurants and Patrons
Epson America, Inc. has announced that Wait List Ordering LLC, a provider of white labeled mobile software solutions for restaurants' wait list and reservations, has selected Epson's Omnilink® TM-T88V-i and OmniLink TM-T20II-i intelligent printers for their unique ePOS™ Print and Server Direct Print technologies to manage restaurant reservations and pre-orders.
NRA SHOW 2015 NEWS: Digital Dining Announces New Mobile Pay Capability Powered by MyCheck
Menusoft Systems, the owners of Digital Dining Point of Sale Software and MyCheck have announced a complete integration into Digital Dining point-of-sale software for quick service and full service restaurants. In line with the company’s capacity to develop branded apps for restaurant groups and chains, MyCheck is also creating the new DDpay App for Digital Dining, which incorporates online ordering and loyalty capabilities in addition to payment.