• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, April 24, 2019

Keeping up with the future can be challenging.

A good example of this is in the restaurant industry. Consumers armed with mobile phones can check reviews in real time and be swayed to skip the restaurant they were heading to and be diverted to another.

It turns out that the leaders running such establishments are aware of a potentially rocky road ahead.

While nearly half (48%) of executives in the food and beverage industry feel prepared to capitalize on future innovations, more than half (59%) say their company faces the threat of disruption from more mobile-enabled competitors.

The findings, based on an Oracle survey of 280 senior executives in the food and beverage industry who use mobile technology, highlight the need to continually keep up with the pace of technology.

Restaurant execs also see the need for speed, with 86% of operators saying branded mobile apps increase their speed of service and revenue. Almost all (93%) say their guest-facing apps promote loyalty and drive repeat business.

The practice of placing advance mobile orders, making payments and reserving tables, such as through the Yelp app, already is well established, and looks to continue. Most (82%) say partnerships with third-party services such as Uber Eats and GrubHub will grow their business and 89% expect it will increase average charges.

On the downside, fewer than half (48%) say they have the tools they need to meet the mobile demands of tomorrow.

So for restaurant managers, tomorrow is coming.