Despite Digital Advances, 42% of Diners Continue to Call in Orders

Calling in via phone may not be the speediest or most efficient way of placing a restaurant order, but for many consumers, it is still one their go-to methods.

By the Numbers

According to data from PYMNTS’ October study “The Digital Divide, Aggregators: The Cost of Convenience,” created in collaboration with Paytronix, which drew from a survey more than 2,200 U.S. adults about their food ordering behavior, 42% reported having ordered via phone call in the prior three months, a significantly greater share than the 17% that had ordered via aggregator.

The Data in Action

In an effort to enable restaurant customers to meet call-in order demand without sinking hours of labor into the channel each week, payments company Square announced in May that it is partnering with conversational artificial intelligence (AI) company SoundHound to integrate call-in orders fielded by SoundHound’s voice assistant into Square’s point-of-sale (POS) system.

Read more: Square Taps Voice Commerce as ResTech Races Toward Automation

“Our partnership with SoundHound allows us to offer innovative and cost-effective solutions to restaurants working with small profit margins and facing multiple challenges — including the high cost of rapid labor turnover and shortages,” Square Head of Restaurants Bryan Solar said in a statement. “This integration provides our sellers with the tools they need to offer a consistently high-level of customer service.”