A touchless menu allows customers to scan a QR code on their own smartphone to browse your menu without ever having to handle a paper menu. No physical menu to touch, no menu to print, no app to download.
Creating a touchless menu is a fairly simple process and can be completed in just a few steps. This article will talk more about what touchless menus are and how you can create your own with OptiSigns.
Try it yourself and scan this QR code with your smartphone to pull up a menu.
Entering the Touchless world
Touchless technology has found its way into everything from grocery store checkout counters, to hotel security systems and now into restaurants with touchless menus, thanks to the digital world that is increasingly using technology to make life more convenient and hands-off.
Cleanliness and hygiene are a top concern for restaurant customers and with COVID-19 being responsible for restaurant losses that are among the largest in any industry, it’s now critical to show customers that you’re taking precautions to protect their health.
Touchless QR menus offer restaurant customers a seamless experience while also showing that you’re serious about hygiene. If you’re looking for a way to update your restaurant with digital signs, consider a touchless menu as a part of your plans.
What are touchless menus?
Touchless menus are a form of smart signage and some of these signs include QR codes that customers can scan using their smartphones or device cameras. A touchless menu lets customers view your menu directly on their smartphones or tablets, but unlike online menus accessed by typing in a URL, customers only have to scan a QR code to go directly to your menus.
Since most mobile devices already have QR readers built into a default camera app, customers will view your menu almost instantly, so it is easy and accessible for the customer to see your offer without ever touching a physical menu or typing a URL.
Touchless QR code menus are a safer and less expensive option than physical menus, and also give restaurants massive control over their menu. Making quick changes to your menu design or updating the food offer has never been an easy task until now.
Another advantage of touchless menus is that they can provide a personalized experience directly at the dining table. Digital menus are standard in quick-service restaurants (QSR), but in Fast Casual and Casual restaurants, most customers will likely have to stand up and walk to get a good look at a digital menu, which can expose them to COVID-19.
Touchless menus are also much easier to update, you can add, change your menu any time and don’t have to worry about re-print.
How to create a touchless menu with OptiSigns
1. Set up the digital menu for your restaurant:
If you already have online ordering enabled or a menu on your website, then you’re almost set. If you don’t, you can always use a pdf of your menu or create your own by using one of our free menu templates.
Next you need to upload your menu into the OptiSigns portal. Just go to Files/Assets and upload the JPG or PDF format of your menu. Then click on the three dots on the right corner of your uploaded asset, and press “copy URL”.
2. Create your QR Code(s):
You can create your QR code with the URL you started on the first step by going to the APP section on our OptiSigns portal and entering QR code on the search bar.
Then you need to type the name, paste the URL of your digital menu, save it and your QR code is created. So when customers scan the QR code, your digital menu will be pulled up on their phone.
Depending on how you’ve engineered your menu, you might want to create more than one QR code. This way you can easily direct customers to the most relevant options providing, for example, different QR codes for your breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, or to separate your food and beverage offerings. It can also be used for contactless digital payment.
3. Place your touchless menu QR code in your restaurant
Touchless menus can only create a seamless restaurant experience if it’s accessible for your customers to scan. It’s important for your touchless menu (QR code) to be available at each table with inserts in tabletop signs or adhered to the surface of a table, but you should also consider displaying it in several other key areas of your restaurant. You can place your QR code on your tables, windows, entryway, walls, and host stand to allow guests to view your menu prior to seating.
For your printed QR codes we recommend you first design a template on Canva, where you can find free business card templates you can personalize with your branding and QR code. Then you just print and stick it to your tables or tabletop promo holders.
Restaurants are finding innovative ways to protect both their customers and their business since the pandemic, and touchless menus give customers peace of mind that your business takes their needs seriously.
