Majority of U.S. restaurants have a website

Restaurants in the U.S. are embracing online marketing and developing interactive websites to keep up with today’s information-hungry society.

by Helen Leggatt

Almost 90 percent of restaurants in the U.S. currently have a website, found a survey by AIS Media, a leading e-business solutions company. Around 6,000 restaurants were surveyed nationwide.

“With over 89 percent of restaurants in America currently having a website, the competition for restaurants will be to have a highly specialized website that speaks to their specific clientele,” said Thomas Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media, Inc.

More and more websites are putting their menus online, and some allow orders to be placed online for delivery or take-out. Some restaurant websites allow visitors to read menu options, find out about special offers, book a table and check out the facilities on offer.

Email was being used as the primary way to communicate with customers by 68 percent of survey respondents. According to the survey, 29 percent sent out a monthly, targeted email campaign.

Not many of the restaurants surveyed had in-house expertise. Over 60 percent outsource their email and internet campaigns. “To be viable and competitive, a website and email campaign has to be constantly changing and evolving to continue to attract attention,” said Harpointner. “For most restaurants it’s more cost-effective and efficient to outsource the management of their email marketing program to a professional services firm than to have a full time person on staff.”