People hate QR-code menus. Now restaurants are ditching them.
- Many restaurants are switching back to using physical menus, The New York Times reported.
- Restaurants are making the change in part because customers hate QR-code menus.
The QR-code restaurant menu may soon be a relic of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many restaurants are switching back to physical menus, in part because customers hate QR-code menus, The New York Times reported.
"They are almost universally disliked," Kristen Hawley, founder of the restaurant technology newsletter Expedite, told the Times.
QR-code menus became prolific at restaurants during the pandemic, enabling customers to view menus, order, and pay and tip all at once. These digital menus rose to prominence during the pandemic for sanitary purposes, as they helped to eliminate contact between restaurant staff and customers.
At first, these QR-code menus were thought to be a staple for the future of restaurants.
But since then, fewer restaurants are creating QR-code menus and the codes that are active are receiving fewer scans from customers, Mark Plumlee, the senior content manager for menu management and printing platform MustHaveMenus, told the Times.
Customers don't want to take out their phones when dining out, because it can be perceived as rude or distracting, the Times reported. One restaurant owner told the Times that that the QR-code menu is essentially "the antithesis of romance," because it can inhibit conversation. The QR menus have also sparked privacy concerns around tracking customer data, Insider reported.
While the QR-code menu has lost favor with customers, restaurant owners told the Times they were also leaning toward dropping the menus. Restaurant owners told the Times that older customers who are not as tech-savvy have trouble with the QR menus and that paying for the QR menus on top of printed menus can be costly — especially if customers aren't using them.
Some restaurants, however, are set on keeping QR codes around — mainly for the convenience and flexibility they provide customers, telling the times that the menus enable customers to order and pay without relying on a server.
Benjamin Claeys, chief executive of Menu Tiger, a global QR-menu software provider, said restaurants are still interested. He told the Times that the number of businesses signing up for the company's services grew 37.6% in the first quarter of this year, compared to the last quarter in 2022.
"Our own customer data says QR-code menus are here to stay," Claeys told The Times.