{"id":25617,"date":"2018-06-15T07:06:35","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T11:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gordon-food-service-canada.pantheonsite.io\/ideas\/embracing-portability\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:39:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T15:39:25","slug":"embracing-portability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/embracing-portability\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing Portability"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time-strapped consumers want to enjoy restaurant-quality food when they want, where they want and a portability strategy can help you meet that demand.<\/h2>\n

Consumer behaviour is shifting, driving changes to how food is accessed. From more people working from home to video-streaming services, foodservice research firms Technomic and The NPD Group have identified a whole host of factors contributing to these changes.<\/p>\n

As a result, people are relying more on non-traditional sources, such as grocery stores, convenience stores, meal kit delivery services and others to get restaurant-quality food. And they\u2019re using mobile technology to find \u00a0something to eat, place an order and pay for it. This is putting pressure on market share and resulting in loss revenue and declining guest counts for some full-service operators. Simply put, consumers have more options and more access to those options than ever before.<\/p>\n

While all of this is creating some unique challenges for operators, there is a bright spot: consumers still want restaurant-quality food. They just don\u2019t necessarily want to eat it in a restaurant. This is where portability comes in.<\/p>\n

Portability is a sales growth strategy you can add to your full-service restaurant\u2019s overall annual strategy to meet consumers where they\u2019re at and potentially regain lost sales and guest counts. This strategy helps target those lost sales and guest counts by offering easier, more affordable ways to get your food to customers, namely enhanced takeout, delivery and\/or a retail extension; all of which are less costly approaches to portability than say, a food truck or branching out into catering.<\/p>\n

One key component is that you should consider offering a mobile ordering solution alongside at least one of the three portability approaches. Consumers use mobile technology \u00a0in their daily experiences. Consider the sweeping adoption of Uber and Amazon. That anywhere, anytime access, ease of selection and ability to pay through their smartphone is not only what they want, but what they expect, from you, so it\u2019s important for you to meet them where they\u2019re at with your own mobile ordering solution.<\/p>\n

Lunch and early-in-the-week dinners (Sunday-Wednesday) offer the biggest sales potential for portability, as this is when guest counts tend to be softer for Full Service operators and when you\u2019ve likely lost the most sales.<\/p>\n

4 Steps to adopt portability<\/h3>\n

Adopting portability can help you build sales and take market share away from both traditional and non-traditional competitors. But before you pick a portability approach, there are a few steps you should walk through, which will help guide to the one that\u2019s best for your operation.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Conduct a competitive analysis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Look at what your competitors are doing in this arena. Who has implemented online ordering? Who does the best with portability and what drives customers to their location? How could you improve on others\u2019 processes?<\/p>\n

Step 2: Define or refine your target audience<\/h3>\n

Knowing who you\u2019re designing your portability program for is key. Honing in on your target audience can yield additional insights, such as packaging and mobile ordering preferences.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Assess your capabilities<\/h3>\n

Portability will necessitate more back- and front-of-the-house activity. Assessing your ability to handle this additional execution will set you up for success.<\/p>\n

Step 4: Select a portability approach<\/h3>\n

Portability comes in three forms: enhanced takeout, delivery and retail extension. Your work in steps 1-3 will help you decide which channel makes the most sense for you.<\/p>\n

Option 1: Enhanced takeout<\/h3>\n

This approach focuses on offering menu items that travel well<\/a>. It gives guests access to \u00a0your food whenever, wherever, and allows you to increase your business outside your existing footprint without a costly expansion. Enhanced takeout also is a great opportunity to build and expand your brand and attract new customers.<\/p>\n

Consider scaling your takeout menu along these lines:<\/p>\n