Younger Consumers Love Everything Digital, Including Digital Menus. Here's What You Need to Know.
There’s been a lot of talk over the last few years about the merging of the physical and the digital worlds. From the metaverse enabling us to potentially live our lives digitally, to NFTs unlocking physical rewards, to digital currency having a place in the world economy, digital is becoming more and more important, and ubiquitous, in everyday life.
But perhaps nowhere is the digital and physical more closely connected than between the smartphone glass and the fingertip of a Gen Z or Millennial. Virtually every aspect of life is somehow connected to a mobile device. Of course, communication is through the smartphone (but, rather ironically, communication isn’t really through the ‘phone’ part) and virtually all knowledge comes via them (‘google’ has been officially a verb since 2006!)
Millennials and Gen Z are … Inevitable
Millennials are an important demographic for just about any brand or business and they’re getting more and more important as every year passes. In fact, move over Boomers because Millennials recently became the largest population group in the US with Gen Z not far behind. Gen Z, because many of their demographic are too young to consider consumers, may not have the all-encompassing consumer cache as Millennials, but there is no doubting that they’re part of the now and a big part of the (near) future for those brands and businesses targeting a younger audience and looking to innovate, especially with digital, as we’ll see.
Smartphones and QR Codes Everywhere
First, we need to truly understand the depth that smartphones (and to a lesser extent QR codes) have become a normal part of modern life for those under 41 years old. Millennials and Gen Z are called the ‘digital native’ generation for a reason – it’s estimated that, in 2022, 94.4% of Millennials own a smartphone while 98% of Gen Z own one. Furthermore, it’s estimated that Gen Z spends over 3 hours per day watching video on their smartphone.
All of this to say that Millennials and Gen Z depend on, and use, their smartphones. A lot. Like, a lot.
QR Codes, though obviously less ‘everywhere’ than smartphones, are still widely adopted by Millennials and Gen Z. Most often used in restaurants and to download games, 85% say they would use a QR code to access product information or a discount. Brands, small business, universities and more have taken notice and are using QR codes in increasingly more creative ways to bring their service, product or message to people’s smartphones.
All of this to say that QR codes are becoming increasingly important in an increasing number of industries.
Smartphones and QR codes in Restaurant, Hospitality and Entertainment Spaces
Gen Z and Millennials (surveys say 78% of Millennials like using QR code menus) welcome QR codes in restaurants. And why wouldn’t they? As we’ve seen, these generations have been born with a mobile device in their hands. They don’t have nearly the same negative associations many older generations (sorry Gen X and Boomers) have with them. They do not think of them as anti-social, nor do they have trouble navigating or understanding how to use the technology — things many older generations struggle with.
But Not Just Any QR Code Solution
Though they are digital native generations, that doesn't mean just any digital solution will be effective for Millennials and Gen Z. In fact, it’s likely the opposite. Because Millennials and Gen Z are so accustomed to digital, they are incredibly discerning about the quality of, not only content, but the design and interface of the digital solution they use. It has to be designed to meet or exceed their expectations – after all Gen Z famously has an 8 second digital attention span. Though, perhaps that attention span shouldn’t be thought of as some form of a deficiency, but rather as an ability to rapidly discern between things they want to engage with and things they don’t.
At Ready, we agree with Millennials and Gen Z. Quality digital experiences are both the now and the future. We improve guest and staff experience, while boosting revenue. If you would like to find out more about how Ready’s order & pay hospitality, entertainment and restaurant tech can help your brand increase revenue and appeal to a younger demographic, please get in touch with our team today.
If you want to find out more about how Ready’s order & pay hospitality, entertainment and restaurant tech can help your brand increase revenue and improve customer experiences, please get in touch with our team today.
About Ready
Ready partners with innovative restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality brands to create frictionless order & pay experiences that WOW guests.
Our mobile-first flexible order & pay software platform empowers guests with more choice, boosts revenue, and connects brands directly with customers.
We are a company of food lovers whose goal is to make guests, servers, and operators say, "Why hasn't it always been like this?"
Our clients are Restaurants, Hotels, Stadiums, Venues, and anywhere food or drinks are served.
Ready to order. Ready to pay. Ready when you are.