Ten’s of Millions of Branded Food Marketing Points of Integration

Success does leave clues one sure clue of success is following the consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  In 2018 you can count on consumers rapid adoption of voice ordering of restaurant meals for delivery or takeout from companies the ilk of TGI Fridays, Domino’s, Wingstop, Pizza Hut, Starbucks.  (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)

The specific clue is Amazon’s voice activated assistant Alexa.  Amazon reported that they sold “tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices” worldwide during the holiday season. That said Amazon doesn’t disclose specific numbers, but the result appears to be up significantly from last year, when Amazon said it sold mere “millions” of Alexa-enabled devices.

In one unspecified week during the holidays, Amazon reported that more than 4 million people signed up for Amazon Prime either through free trials or fully paid memberships. Now foodservice operators take note how many customers accepted you branded invitation in any one week during the holiday season? 

Remember the information superhighway that most restaurateurs watch as it was built and then spent years watching the consumer get on that superhighway and fly right past your locations.  Times have changes and fresh food retailers must evolve even faster today.

Voice activated menus, ordering, delivery, and tracking will become the food industry standard in 2018 and the NEXT BIG THING and right now it’s going to be a two company race between Google’s Home and Amazon’s Alexa with an advantage tilting strongly toward Alexa and Amazon right now. 

Amazon noted that the Echo Spot, Echo Dot and Echo Buttons all sold out for the holiday season.  Johnson note’s that integrated digital mobile voice drive-thru ordering, kiosk, and food truck ordering will be the next big break through.   

While Amazon recently sold “tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices” don’t forget that ‘Google Assistant, Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and others in the home market for voice-based assistants and smart speakers.  Do you want to know which of these companies is best at integrating Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s of Food Marketing? For more visit www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or   www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us