10 Unique Restaurant Technology Trends will take the throne in 2025
2025 is coming near, and the restaurant technology trends are changing the face of dining. The way restaurants serve customers and maintain their operations is transforming because of technology. Without a doubt, technological advancements can significantly improve the diners’ experience and increase efficiency.
In this article, we will also list ten unique restaurant technology trends that will gain popularity in 2025. As we look at each trend, we can see new opportunities for restaurant owners to become innovative. By keeping up with these trends, restaurants can do better to meet their customer needs and their expectations.
Let’s see into the future of dining and discover how these restaurant technology trends will affect the burgeoning industry!
I. Restaurant Technology Trends: Definition
“Restaurant technology trends” is a term that refers to technological tools and systems that are being used by many restaurants. Often, they help those restaurants become more efficient and create quality products that offer better profitability. POS systems, mobile ordering/online ordering platforms, and inventory management software are examples of such tools.
Those are essential tools that restaurants rely on to meet customers’ expectations and stay within budget. This is always critical, especially in a space with such slim profit margins. Restaurant technology trends help streamline operations, hence providing a consistent service and quality experience and improving the customer experience. Altogether, they will help build brand loyalty.
Integrating sales, customer management, and reporting functionalities on the POS system is at the core of restaurant technology trends. Today, some restaurants are so far as to use a tablet at each table. Thanks to that, the customer can place the order directly into the POS system. In addition, online ordering and delivery platforms address customer demand for convenience and simultaneously generate new sources of revenue. Also, the inventory management systems help maintain the supply balance, decrease waste, decrease cost, and increase profitability.
Some other restaurant technology trends are customer relationship management (CRM) tools and digital marketing platforms. These tools help strengthen customer connections and encourage repeat visits. Kitchen display systems and automation tools help communications between the front of house and kitchen staff achieve higher order accuracy. In the last few years, technology has advanced, pushing the boundaries of restaurant efficiency by using advanced technology like artificial intelligence.
Indeed, restaurant technology has come a long way in recent decades. In the early 2000s, POS systems replaced cash registers, allowing for better inventory and sales tracking. In the mid-2000s, online ordering platforms had appeared, and by the 2010s, mobile payment options and loyalty apps had arrived. Real-time access to data from multiple locations was soon possible through cloud-based solutions. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of contactless technologies for delivery and takeout. Restaurant technology is evolving with AI, robotics, and blockchain today, creating new standards for automation, transparency, and personalization.
II. 10 noteworthy restaurant technology trends in 2025
1. Ordering Gets Personalized
Dine-in choices have become limited, and guest preferences have changed noticeably in recent years. In 2024, it was clear that the restaurant experience was changing, and customers, especially Gen Z, expected more from restaurants. According to Square’s 2024 Dining Report, 55 percent of diners want ‘new experiences at local restaurants.’ The National Restaurant Association suggested ‘exclusive menu items’ to satisfy the one-of-a-kind craving, and OpenTable said novelty was in great demand.
Tech-powered customization is the solution to this challenge. Mobile apps and other restaurant technology trends, like online ordering tools and mobile apps, allow guests to customize their orders. These customers can easily add extra orders or change orders for their needs and get exclusive “secret menu” or “app only” offerings.
Joe Guszkowski from Restaurant Business highlights that guests today seek two main things: experience or convenience. Fortunately, both of these needs are met by technology-enabled customization. By 2025, even more restaurants will catch up on these trends, using mobile apps and bespoke ‘recommendations’ to provide personalized, memorable dining experiences.
2. Food Waste Management
Food waste will become too much of a burden for restaurants around the world to cope with by 2025. Hence, they will have no choice but to be sustainable. Tackling the frightening one-third (1.3 billion tons) of food wasted worldwide is being done by technology to reduce our waste. With AI-powered inventory tracking and smart waste management systems, restaurants can eliminate waste as organizations predict customer demand on the spot and adjust accordingly.
Machine learning can take historical sales data and accurately predict needs so that there isn’t overstock and spoilage. This focus on tackling food waste matches global initiatives, including the UN’s ambition to cut food waste in half by 2030.
However, adopting these solutions meets challenges, which come in a bundle with the promises of technology-driven sustainability. Firstly, this can be a barrier, particularly to smaller establishments, due to the high initial cost and regular update requirements. Additionally, training to integrate these advanced systems into current operations may be fitful or later disrupt workflow.
Another worry is data accuracy — underpinning predictions can be inaccurate and increase waste rather than reduce it. As the industry transitions to tech-based food waste management systems, there will be financial investment and a cultural shift to these systems.
3. Voice Recognition Technology
By 2025, voice recognition will change customer interaction with restaurants as completely as it does today. Voice-activated systems will become better with natural language processing and AI advances. Hence, customers can place orders, make reservations, and give feedback without much effort.
Research estimated that the use of voice assistants for commerce will grow by 320 percent by 2025. This is proof of the growing use of voice technology in customer service. Today’s tech-savvy diners are drawn to voice recognition as more people use smart speakers and voice-enabled devices.
However, voice recognition technology has some challenges to embrace. One of the biggest hurdles is the inability to achieve accuracy across different accents, dialects, and languages. Moreover, some customers may not want to use this technology for fear that their voice data will not be secure or for fear of privacy.
The need to protect customers’ data to increase trust and encourage adoption makes it a must for restaurants to implement extensive cybersecurity practices. Additionally, they should also educate customers about the safety and benefits of this interaction.
4. Coffee Subscription Models
Coffee subscription models are next up on this list of restaurant technology trends. In 2024, Recurly’s annual active subscription services reported 16 percent growth, up from 105 percent from 4 years ago. Additionally, 51 percent of caffeine seekers visit coffee shops at least weekly. It didn’t take long for coffee shops to see the opportunities in the rapid growth in subscriptions and roll out their subscription programs.
Well-known coffee subscription programs like Panera’s “Unlimited Sip Club” and Pret a Manger’s “Club Pret” have been booming over the past year. Newer companies like Blank Street Coffee introduced their subscription model in 2024, and they were met with incredible success. Within its first four months, Blank Street’s “Blank Street Regulars” program grew to 5,000 paying members. As demand was so high, the program was capped by a membership limit, but the number of weekly visits has increased.
Blank Street co-founder Vinay Menda said subscribers have been coming in more often than ever. Without the program, people would go maybe two or three times a week, but now they’re coming six times a week. This is a great trend that shows how coffee subscriptions can help to grow customer loyalty and revenue.
It is definitely expected that more coffee shops will start taking on subscription models by 2025. This is a great way to have a steady monthly income for the operator while providing benefits to the customer.
5. Contactless Payments
The restaurant industry is fast falling into a cashless culture, and technologies like QR codes and digital wallets are leading the way. According to a projection, by the year 2025, over 80% of restaurant transactions will be cashless.
As customers demand convenience and hygiene, ordering and paying via QR codes has become a popular method. Aside from QR codes, cryptocurrencies, and digital wallets, like Apple Pay or Google Wallet, are also popular among technology-savvy consumers.
Like other restaurant technology trends, the advantages of a cashless culture are, of course, not without challenges. Cybersecurity risks like hacking and fraud weaken consumer trust and may make digital transactions vulnerable. Some groups will be pushed to the margins – older customers and the less digitally resourced.
Restaurants will have to tackle this with safety measures and invest in strong cybersecurity measures and other means of payment for the transition. But to be able to do that, they’ll have to make sure all their customers can get access to those alternatives.
6. Advanced Delivery Systems
Delivery cars and bikes were everywhere during the stay-at-home orders, but what if we had dinner delivered to us by drones instead? For years now, we’ve been talking about advanced delivery systems like drones. Restaurant El Pollo Loco, for example, started testing drone delivery as far back as 2021. By 2024, these systems went beyond testing as Flytrex, for instance, raced to milestone levels such as ‘100,000 successful food deliveries.’
Don’t worry if the drone option is not the right one for you. There are other options that sprang forth in 2024. With its cost-saving benefits, Relay Delivery has become a popular company offering commission-free courier services and reclaiming control of restaurants. Unlike drones, Relay has less high-tech but advantages. Relay allows restaurants to access customers’ data, preferences, and order histories, unlike other third-party platforms.
Whether you’re exploring drone delivery or looking for enhanced ground delivery options, these advanced delivery systems are expected to keep evolving in 2025.
7. Virtual Reality in Dining Experiences
Virtual reality (VR) will completely upturn restaurant technology trends in 2025 by bringing immersive experiences to the dining world. VR creates an interactive environment that brings diners from exotic locations to dine in a virtual kitchen. It can also help people attend a cooking class during a visit with famous chefs right from the restaurant seat.
These VR-driven customer experiences engage the customer and build memorable, stand-out moments that differentiate a restaurant from a highly competitive market. A PwC report also shows that the VR market could bring $1.5 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Additionally, the hospitality industry will likely see significant benefits from these restaurant technology trends.
VR has great potential, but introducing VR into a restaurant setting is complicated. For example, the initial cost of VR equipment and software development will likely be too high for some restaurants to consider. Moreover, customer hygiene and safety may discourage some customers from using VR headsets in a post-pandemic environment.
Ensuring that VR improves, more specifically, does not detract from the dining experience is another challenge to overcome. It involves careful planning and execution in the considerations and use of such technology. However, as VR advances, it will become one of the great restaurant technology trends for restaurants to maximize the dining experience.
8. Predictive Inventory Management
Predictive inventory management will be among the important restaurant technology trends in this coming year. AI and machine learning power these systems. They help scan past sales, current weather patterns, and local events to predict demand with near perfection. That ensures popular items stay in stock while not ordering too much, leading to waste.
According to a recent Deloitte study, food waste is reduced by 30 percent when restaurants implement predictive inventory systems. At the same time, profit margins rose by 20%. Thus, restaurants are allowed to be more proactive, which supports efficiency and sustainability in daily restaurant operations and modern restaurant technology trends.
However, as with other restaurant technology trends, adopting predictive inventory management also presents challenges. First, it can lead to a big investment in technology, and the whole staff needs training. Furthermore, as these systems rely on good data, poor data management can skew output and bring operations to a halt. In particular, smaller restaurants will find implementing these advanced systems’ financial and technical requirements difficult.
With predictive inventory management becoming a necessary part of restaurant technology trends, these challenges must be overcome for better success.
9. AI-Powered Customer Interactions
Restaurant technology trends are set to transform by 2025, when AI-enhanced customer service will dominate the restaurant industry’s customer transactions.
In restaurants, AI is advancing customer service with AI-driven chatbots that take reservations and answer questions. They can also act as virtual assistants that can take orders and offer personal recommendations. According to a recent Gartner report, AI will manage half of all restaurant customer interactions by 2025, providing faster service. Thus, restaurants will eventually achieve higher customer satisfaction. Continuously learning from each interaction, AI can make more accurate predictions of what their customer will prefer and a more tailored dining experience.
Implementing AI into customer service is promising, but it has challenges. AI systems depend on lots of personal data, and when mishandled, they can put customer trust and security at risk. Data privacy and security are definitely significant concerns to keep in mind.
The other challenge is the risk of over-dependence on AI, which can take away the personal touch diners appreciate. This is especially true in a restaurant, where it’s about being with others. Another challenge is training AI to understand human nuances and emotional intelligence, a constantly evolving process that needs to be supervised.
As restaurant technology trends embrace AI, these challenges must be solved for AI to succeed.
10. Robotic chefs
In 2025, robotic chefs will be a major force in restaurant technology trends, bringing consistency, efficiency, and innovation to the world’s kitchens.
The highly advanced robotic systems that can prepare dishes with extreme precision and speed are the perfect replacements for human chefs and reduce errors. Since robots can work all the time, the service times become much quicker, and labor costs can be cheaper.
As interest and investment in robotic chefs increase, the global food robotics market is expected to grow significantly. Specifically, the expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 12.1 percent between 2020 and 2025, reflecting this growth.
However, there are challenges to be aware of. For example, smaller restaurants are hesitant to adopt robotics due to the high costs of advanced robotics. Moreover, the culinary arts stress heritage and creativity, both of which are impossible tasks for machines. Robots also have the potential to replace jobs in the restaurant sector.
Additionally, kitchen operations could be interrupted by technical malfunctions and require routine maintenance. Thus, it is essential to balance human expertise with robots in present-day kitchens.
With robotic chefs taking shape in the restaurant technology trends, these hurdles will be necessary for successful robotic chef integration.
III. Unifying Restaurant Technology Trends with Adamo Software
Adamo Software can combine your restaurant technology trends and make your restaurant operations one beautiful thing. Offering cloud-based POS systems and automatic inventory management, we have innovative solutions suitable for these changing times in the industry. These technologies make the process better organized, helping you to improve the customer experience to the fullest and with maximum efficiency.
To help restaurants meet the ever-changing consumer expectations, we integrate contactless payments and self-ordering kiosks. Adamo’s dedicated development team already understands how to handle these trends to ensure your business stays competitive. Our flexible and tailored software solution will enable your software to do the same in the fast-moving restaurant world.
If you are ready to embrace the future of dining and grow your restaurant’s performance, contact us now!
