The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) will offer $28.6 billion in grants to hard-hit restaurants and bars, with restaurants able to apply for grants based on lost revenue.
Many indicators point to a busy tourism season this summer. After the pandemic, there is a lot of pent up demand for people to get out and see our great state! (Yes, tourism is a season in Alaska, just like breakup is a season.)
Payments are always a hot topic, especially trends in mobile payments. So, we wanted to share some highlights from an article published by RSPA (Retail Solutions Providers Association), written by Mark Bunney, Sales & Marketing Leader at Ingenico:
We have heard from suppliers that an increase in paper prices is forthcoming and wanted to give you a heads-up.
"During the past few weeks, all major Mills that supply thermal and other paper grades to the North American market have announced price increases ranging from 8% to 15% depending on the grade and weight of the paper."
Proactively, we have brought in extra stock before the price increase goes into effect.
So if you want to stock up on a few boxes to save money, please contact us to place an order.
"The 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry report
(from the National Restaurant Association) is considered the most authoritative source for restaurant industry sales projections and trends. It is based on analysis of the latest economic data and extensive surveys of 6,000 restaurant operators and 1,000 adult consumers."
And this year, as a gift to restaurant owners, they are giving it away for
free for non-members (normally $149).
There is extremely valuable information in the report. We highly recommend downloading a copy for your business!!!
The report confirms 2020 was the most challenging year ever experienced by the restaurant industry and covers:
- The restaurant sales forecast for 2021
- Operational changes including off-premises business and accelerated tech adoption
- Consumer influencers, opinions and intentions
- Food & menu trends including best sellers
- Employment levels by state
- And more…
And we were very interested to learn about the new technology trends. Here is a sneak peak:
TECHNOLOGY:
Roughly half of full-service, fast casual, and coffee & snack operators say they devoted more resources to tech including online or in-app ordering, mobile payment and delivery
management since March.
While the technology itself hasn’t changed much since pre-COVID-19 days, tech adoption rates accelerated. What might have been “nice to have” became “need to have.” Operators implemented changes with increasing focus on safety and convenience to help keep the business from going under.
And a reminder, please support your local restaurant associations! We are grateful for all their hard work!
There are all sorts of credit card gimmicks these days. Are they legit? Do they save your business money? How hard is compliance?
Offering your customers a discount for paying with cash or check is nothing new.
Neither is adjusting how much a customer pays if they use a payment type that results in higher processing costs for the business owner. While these concepts have been around for quite some time, they have recently been brought back into the spotlight, especially for businesses hard hit during COVID.
Today, we are here to talk about one of the easiest ways to save money on your credit card fees - through the Non-Cash Adjustment (NCA) Program:
With a Non-Cash Adjustment, your list prices have a built-in cash discount incentive. Customers who pay with credit and signature debit cards do not receive the discount and will see a Non-Cash Adjustment on their receipt.
On average, businesses can save $9,500 a year simply by sharing their processing costs with their customers.
But make sure use a trusted partner when implementing this programs - you want to make sure you are staying compliant with the program!
As I sit down to write this, I honestly can say it is hard to put down into words all that has happened this last year to our customers, employees, vendors, friends, family and communities near and far.
