Some restaurant operators are banking on the popularity of Apple’s Internet enabled, touchscreen iPhone to help boost business through online orders.
Greg Maples, president and founder of 12-unit, Rohnert Park, Calif.-based High Tech Burrito, said order volume increased when his online ordering services provider, GetQuik, added support for the iPhone interface. iPhone and other online orders processed using Santa Clara, Calif.-based GetQuik's technology are relayed to High Tech Burrito stores as faxes "to keep things simple," he noted.
"Some of our stores are receiving 20 orders per day — several more than before," Maples said.
According to Maples, orders placed using GetQuik's support of online transactions average $30, compared with the $9 average for in-store orders. "I think iPhone ordering is really going to take off in the next few months, because for many consumers, it's much simpler to order that way than to log onto the computer or even pick up the telephone," he predicted.
That's the sort of speculation that prompted GetQuik to modify its Web-based ordering platform to support the iPhone, which has a relatively large screen and switches between landscape and portrait modes to provide users with the best views.
The California technology company is not alone in appreciating the iPhone's unique features. Officials of Chicago-based QuikOrder, which supports online and mobile ordering for the Pizza Hut system, said recently that their technology now supports iPhones and iPod Touch devices.
Called GetQuik for iPhone, the GetQuik service operates on the iPhone's Safari browser. To use it, customers register for a free user account at http://www.GetQuik.com .Once registered, they can create and save in the GetQuik system their favorite menu items and meals from participating restaurants, along with payment information. Going forward, those favorites can be accessed by logging in to the iPhone Web application.
Operator clients of GetQuik receive orders via email, fax or a combination of both, with GetQuik collecting a fee of 10 percent of each transaction.
"The iPhone Web application was configured with the goal of minimizing clicks and keystrokes to provide a fast and convenient ordering experience," said GetQuik founder and chief executive Ken Ryu. Citing an example of how that approach manifested itself, he said his company's software "uses a scrolling concept to select an item quantity versus requiring a user to key in a number."
GetQuik for iPhone currently offers ordering from some 170 Northern California restaurants in its network, including such San Francisco Bay Area regional chains as Pizza My Heart, High Tech Burrito, Erik's DeliCafe and Una Mas. GetQuik plans to expand to other U.S. cities in 2008. The company first entered the mobile market in May 2007 with its J2ME and WAP applications for smart phones and mobile devices.
Because GetQuik for iPhone leverages the service provider's standard Internet infrastructure, there is no way to ascertain whether incoming orders were generated by mobile device or desktop personal computer or laptop using conventional Web browser software
Mani Kadir is chief executive and founder of The Tandoori Oven Indian food chain, with branches in several California cities, including Campbell, Los Gatos, Palo Alto and San Jose. He said the number of takeout orders placed in his stores has tripled since the chain signed on with GetQuik in late January.
Orders are transmitted to Tandoori Oven units by e-mail, and while he cannot verify through system data how the orders originate, Kadir said he has a sense from customer comments, personal observations and employee feedback that up to 50 percent may be coming from iPhone users.
GetQuik intends to update the system to operate as a native application after Apple releases its iPhone/iTouch firmware later this year. The application also will be configured to enable customers to search, view and order from a restaurant's complete menu directly from their iPhones.