In the hospitality industry, amenities are everything. Offering your guests the best experience while visiting your restaurant is important—and making their visit as good as possible ensures repeat visits, more reviews and happy customers.
Here is our infographic of the top 10 statistics that prove why guest WiFi is an important amenity in restaurants—and why you should consider upgrading to a fully fledged mesh WiFi solution.
1. 36% Of Guests are More Likely to Visit Restaurants with WiFi More Frequently.
According to a recent study, 36% of guests are more likely to frequent restaurants that offer free WiFi to guests.
It’s no secret that getting repeat visits from guests is challenging—and anything extra that you can offer to guests helps improve the retention rate and increase repeat customers.
2. Poor Signal Coverage is 71% of Guests Pet Peeve.
Corporate Travel Community report that having poor WiFi is a pet peeve for 71% of guests.
Keeping guests satisfied is something all restaurants strive to do. With over 70% of guests reported to have a gripe with poor WiFi signal, a good mesh solution in place (eliminating black spots) is a no-brainer for many restaurants.
3. 32.9% of Cafe Visitors are Loyal Because of WiFi
Research shows that “Approximately 39.2% of the coffee shop behavioural loyalty was explained by the Wi-Fi usage factors”.
Having good WiFi at your cafe gives patrons the option to use WiFi to socialise online, get college work done, attend video meetings and more. With these extra options available to customers, you can be sure your giving guests a great experience.
4. On Average, Loyal Customers Spend 66% More
If you’re rewarding customers for visiting your restaurant or cafe, then you’re much more likely to see higher spending habits, according to 7Shifts.
A great way to do that is to use stamp cards. With WiFi landing pages, you can gather guest data and provide them with a stamp card—which rewards loyalty, and therefore is likely to increase spending amounts your regular visitors.
5. 70% of People Prefer Restaurants that have WiFi
The Journal of Foodservice Business Research reported that up to 70% of restaurant guests prefer visiting a restaurant where WiFi is available.
The study says “About 70% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they preferred restaurants and cafes with Wi-Fi hotpots.”
6. Nearly 50% Of Restaurant Visitors are Influenced by Social Media
Research from MGH shows that nearly 50% of visitors chose a restaurant based on a post they saw on social media. This further highlights how important social media is to your customers.
A great way to improve social engagement and increase posts about your restaurant is to provide your guests with WiFi social login pages. You can get guests to sign in with their Facebook profile, and encourage them to like or follow your social media accounts, and even publish photos of their meal to their friends.
7. 74% Of Guests Want WiFi at a Restaurant
According to Marketscale, a huge 74% of restaurant patrons want WiFi. This is a big percentage—showing just how important WiFi is for restaurants. This statistic, coupled with fact that 70% of people prefer restaurants with WiFi, and it’s a no-brainer.
8. Over 45% Of Customers Expect Tabletop Mobile Ordering
Technomic did a post-lockdown study of consumer habits and preferences when visiting restaurants and found that 46% of customers expect an app for table service or table-top ordering.
During the pandemic, such technologies became prevalent, to limit face-to-face contact in restaurants. As lockdowns eased, consumers are still expecting apps to be available to order online. It goes without saying that online ordering apps need to be accessible for everyone, and while many people use 4G, some still rely on a restaurants WiFi for their table-top ordering service.
9. Nearly 80% Of Restaurant Payments are Made Using Debit Cards
Contactless payments are nothing new, but the past 2 years have helped establish contactless and mobile as the predominate form of payment in the UK. As Statista reports, nearly 80% of people are using their debit card to make payments, with cash in second and mobile rising rapidly through the ranks.
Providing your customers with reliable WiFi connectivity at your restaurant allows them to make online or mobile transactions with ease—an ever growing requirement in todays modern market.
10. Having WiFi Means Visitors are Strongly Likely to Return to your Restaurant.
Every restaurant wants return visitors. And providing reliable and secure WiFi networks is a great way to attract those elusive second visits.
A study by the Journal of Foodservice concludes that, “providing Wi-Fi service at restaurants is positively correlated with a customer’s intention to return to a restaurant.” [source].
It is clear that offering your customers a good WiFi signal and experience is important for restaurants. Adding extra amenities helps entice potential customers, and with customisable landing pages and social logins, you can help boost those vital reviews and increase online engagement with your brand—attracting new customers and growing retention.
