Over the past few months, the Covid-19 crisis has triggered an acceleration in demand across the hospitality sector for technology solutions which help businesses minimise person-to-person contact, adhere to social distancing restrictions and operate safely.

However, as the sector moves from reopening to rebuilding over time, it’s important for us all to picture a post-Covid world and consider how technology can support and power the sector beyond solutions that offer just a basic order and payment solution.

A frictionless customer experience will be critical to retaining existing customers and capturing next-generation loyalty. But firstly, it’s about having the right digital tools in places, used in the right environments and at the right times to win back customers and make the experience as seamless as possible.

While the ability to pay via phone or app has been around for some time, businesses will need to look for more innovative tech solutions which enhance their offer to remain competitive and front of mind with consumers.

Streamlining the whole customer experience such as removing or reducing the need to queue and providing an alternative to the traditional methods of purchase will continue to be sought after for the foreseeable future.

For example, OrderPay has incorporated a pioneering ‘tap and go’ function into its app which will particularly appeal to quick service retailers, enabling customers to tap their phone on a shelf label to pay for an item without the need to queue and pay – with operators such as Wasabi already on board with this.