The week’s Restaurant Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., gathered 1,000 top industry executives to discuss the terrific news that industry sales are finally rebounding. GE Capital shared encouraging survey results showing “pent-up demand” for restaurant meals, and multiple April reports of positive Q1 same-store sales at U.S. chains reinforced those findings. With such evidence that the worst of the recession is over, you can imagine the gathering’s mood was highly upbeat.

And there’s more good news! Other GE findings show the immediate future is even brighter if you have an online ordering platform:

            ● 30.3% of Gen X diners use a restaurant’s online ordering service, as do 43.6% of Gen Y customers

            ● 56% of all consumers visit restaurant websites

            ● 54% use the Internet to learn about a restaurant they have yet to try

            ● 40% of all restaurant visits are now influenced by online media (i.e. traditional news outlets, blogs or social media)

It doesn’t take a genius to recognize the critical movements afoot in the restaurant industry: 1. upward sales trends; 2. growing customer preference for restaurant buying opportunities and information gathering through online channels. If you’ve got point 2 covered, your sales are now positioned to soar. If you don’t, give us a call and let us show you how to change that and avoid missing out on point 1.