High level of support for QR codes among Australian diners
While US restaurants turn back time to more traditional methods of paying and ordering, Australians are defending the use of QR codes in venues.
QR codes became the perfect non-contact form of service, during the pandemic and the ease of use has struck a chord with Australians since.
While there has been some backlash, many are for keeping QR codes in the future.
One Reddit user said restaurants should stop using them.
“I know it’s a new thing, but it’s worse than the self service at check-outs. The last thing you should be doing at a restaurant is getting your phone out and trying to use some terrible app,” they wrote.
“Is it just me who feels this way?”
The complaint attracted over a thousand responses, with most defending online ordering systems.
“What they should do is offer both options. Some people don’t want to use phones out at dinner and others might want to because they can enable accessibility features,” one said.
Accessibility was a major theme.
“I’m 83, with mobility issues. Very convenient for me,” one person wrote.
“There’s a bar near my work that has them on table,” another said.
“I can just go over there for lunch sit down and order a pint, then order a parma and then order another pint without having to leave my table.
“How is that not awesome?”
In the US, adoption is put down to generational divide, with older patrons preferring face-to-face contact. Many venues have now taken a hybrid approach.
Back home, a recent study conducted by financial services company Square has shed light on local businesses' adoption of technology for enhancing efficiency. While the study did not specifically focus on QR codes, it revealed that half of the restaurants generating $1 million or more in revenue annually attributed the implementation of automation and online ordering systems to a surge in customer numbers.
The study further highlighted that a significant majority, 76 per cent, of customers expressed support for restaurants incorporating some form of automation, particularly during periods when they are not operating at full staffing capacity.
Ming-Tai Huh, general manager of Square for Restaurants said, “The vast majority of restaurants will be integrating AI into their operations in small, iterative ways – not through flashy robots but through automation in marketing or kitchen workflows – and these minor changes will add up to saved time and more profit.”
The one thing people should be concerned about is scams.
Choice has warned consumers about scammers using QR codes to rob unsuspecting diners.
There is a growing problem in the UK known as ‘quishing’, a form of phishing attack using QR codes.
Last year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) disclosed that there were 56 reported scams involving QR codes, although no financial losses were incurred.
Jonathan Jackson, 4th June 2024
