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Mobile ordering and cashless tech had started to catch on at venues and events but the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the need for such technology. Contactless payments went from being convenient to being indispensable. Now, event organisers and owners of music venues are turning to mobile ordering apps to provide a safer experience for customers and remain open while complying with Covid restrictions.
Several companies have developed apps or digital platforms that help vendors provide a completely contactless experience for customers. And many of them had a lot of success in 2020 and 2021.
Events Using Mobile Ordering
One company that has developed a mobile ordering solution catering specifically to events and venues is NOQ Group. Its tech works by asking customers to scan a QR code with their smartphones, which directs them to a personalised page with all the vendor’s products available for purchase. It can work for ordering drinks at the bar during a concert, selling musician merch at a venue, or managing multiple vendors at a festival or large event.
In the era of Covid-19 and social distancing, contactless ordering has become a must. Venues and events that want to keep operating will have to look for ways to keep their patrons and employees safe – and mobile ordering apps are perfect.
NOQ Group has managed to work with several events in 2021, helping organisers carry out Covid-safe events with their contactless ordering solution. They worked with several drive-in cinemas, which became popular in 2020 and 2021 as a result of social distancing requirements. NOQ helped companies like Cinestock and Celestial Cinema host drive-in film experiences by providing a mobile food and drinks ordering solution.
Another successful event that NOQ helped pull off in 2021 was the Scottish Open. The event organisers used NOQ’s technology for contactless ticketing and food and drinks ordering. It was the first time using a mobile ordering and ticketing system for the Scottish Open.
StrEAT Events director Vanessa Gilpin said, “It’s been a good step in that direction for us, especially at a golf event where it’s a specific demographic of customers that maybe aren’t used to using mobile ordering…it just goes to show how it can work so easily at various events with various audiences.”
Why Your Event Needs Cashless Tech and Mobile Ordering
Mobile ordering appeals to event organisers and venue owners for the obvious safety reasons concerning Covid. However, there are multiple reasons your next event should utilise cashless tech. For starters, fewer people carry cash on them these days. It’s becoming increasingly rarer to need ATMs at large events or festivals because vendors can accept card payments or use contactless methods such as mobile apps.
Another reason to switch to mobile ticketing and ordering is that event attendees don’t like queues. After queuing to get into a venue, customers aren’t motivated to queue at the bar again for drinks. With Covid, queuing is almost impossible as well. With a mobile ordering app like NOQ, there’s no more need for queues, either at the entrance or to order food and drinks.
A mobile ordering app lets you more easily compile data on your sales. The NOQ platform, for example, keeps track of which of your products is selling best, and at what times you had the most sales. You can use these insights to improve offerings at your next event, making the customer experience better and generating more revenue.
Mobile Ordering Apps Increase Cost Per Head
When event attendees use an app to order, they tend to spend more. There’s no hard data to back it up, but venues that use the NOQ platform say they definitely see an increase in sales. This boost is likely attributed to a few factors:
- People order more when they’re more comfortable. When you have to go up to a crowded bar to get drinks or come in contact with a server and breach that 1,5-metre COVID-safe distance, you’re less motivated to order more. When you can simply pick what you want and pay with an app, at safe a distance and from your own seat or table, you don’t mind spending a few extra pounds on another drink or appetizer.
- People have more time to choose. Anxiety emanating from having to stand in front of a server or cashier and make a semi-rapid decision is real. When you’re at the front of a long queue you don’t want to waste anyone’s time, or if you’ve already waited 15 minutes to get the bartender’s attention you don’t want to lose it again. So you order quickly, and you order less. When people can take their time to peruse all the options using their phone, they feel less pressured and tend to purchase more.
- Contactless payments encourage higher spending. There’s a theory that you feel a sense of loss when you purchase something, from the physical act of handing over cash or your card. Your wallet gets thinner or your bank account gets lower. When you pay with an app, you don’t experience that sense of physical loss so you don’t mind spending more.
The Benefits of Going Cashless Post-Covid
Mobile ordering apps were already on the rise before the 2020 pandemic hit. Queuing at events and music venues has always been a hassle.
NOQ Group founder Param Kanabar says, “We are a young team that has been directly affected by the problems associated with queuing at events; being crushed at the bar, missing out on our favourite shows, and ultimately not being able to order the food and drinks we want.”
The NOQ platform set out to fix these problems and ended up being the perfect tech that bars, venues, and restaurants needed amidst the Covid restrictions.
Venues and event spaces were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic – the first to close and the last to reopen once restrictions loosened. Cashless tech like mobile ordering apps have become indispensable for helping music venues, festivals, bars, restaurants, and event spaces open back up while adhering to Covid regulations. With no touching menus or tightly packed queues, everyone can remain at a safe distance from each other and reduce the potential to spread the virus.
Do Mobile Ordering Apps Have Downsides?
The only real disadvantage to mobile ordering apps is their newness; some customers may not be familiar with ordering products from their smartphone at an event or show. Most of these apps are intuitive for both the customers and the vendors, however, so it’s no wonder that venues and event organisers are adopting the technology so quickly. Don’t be surprised if the next venue or event you head to is using a mobile ordering solution.