A new report from Paytronix Systems found that consumers conduct 55 percent of their restaurant purchases online but concluded that independent restaurants still need to invest more into restaurant technology.

The report was part of the company’s “Delivering on Restaurant Rewards” project that focuses on expanding digital ordering and payment options for independent restaurants. The report found that almost half of the independent sit-down restaurant customers surveyed would spend more if the restaurants from which they are ordering offered loyalty programs.

“Independent restaurants’ customers are more loyal than chain QSRs’ customers, but their engagement is still falling during the pandemic,” according to the company. “Independent restaurants must take active measures to mitigate this decrease in customer engagement by adopting the digital ordering options that their customers want. The two-pronged approach of providing these digital options, in addition to offering loyalty and rewards programs, can not only help them reach more customers but also encourage loyal customers to increase their food order spend and keep independent restaurants in the green.”

The report was drawn from a survey of 2,130 U.S. consumers to gain insights into the types of reward programs they use and would like to use while placing food orders. Respondents were 47 years of age on average, 34 percent had college degrees and 36 percent earned more than $100,000 in annual income.

Key findings from the research include:

• Independent restaurants have lost 10 percent of their customers since the start of the pandemic.
• Consumers who order online spend upwards of 50 percent more than those who order in person.
• 11 million independent QSR customers and 32 million independent sit-down restaurant customers (almost half) would spend more if the restaurants from which they are ordering offered loyalty programs.
• Expanding digital ordering and payments options could help independent restaurants drive customer spend.