The catering software market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 15.5% during the forecast period.
Catering software is developed for the companies offering catering services to address their needs of food processing and distribution. The software manages various operations such as cost tracking, staff management, employee scheduling, and hospitality. It also offers an onsite cafe or catering operation and acts in coordination with the restaurants and online food delivery applications.
Digitalization has enabled the catering software to provide a seamless experience to the end-users by avoiding administrative errors. As per Restaurant.org, there are more than a million restaurants in the U.S. alone, with industry sales of USD 899 million, growing with a CAGR of 4%. Additionally, rapidly expanding fast-food chains is subsequently surging the demand for catering software to manage the daily needs of the customers, further boosting the market growth.
The online food delivery platforms have been witnessing massive popularity in the last few years due to quicker delivery and availability of a wide variety of food. As per Statista, in 2019–20, the global online food delivery platforms generated revenue of USD 122.7 billion in 2019, with a growth rate of 7.5%. The online food delivery platforms are connected with over a hundred restaurants, thus necessitating the use of catering software for managing, billing, and delivering orders accurately and effectively.
Technological uncertainties such as poor internet connection, system failure, server load, security issues, and lack of technically skilled labor hamper market growth. As per the Insurance Information Institute, in 2018, the number of data breach cases in the U.S. was about 1257, which increased to 1473 cases in 2019. As per the Fraud the Facts 2019 report, in the U.K., financial frauds accounted for about USD 1105.20 million in 2018.
| Study Period | 2020-2032 | CAGR | 15.5% |
| Historical Period | 2020-2022 | Forecast Period | 2024-2032 |
| Base Year | 2023 | Base Year Market Size | USD XX Billion |
| Forecast Year | 2032 | Forecast Year Market Size | USD XX Billion |
| Largest Market | North America | Fastest Growing Market | Asia Pacific |
North America accounted for the largest share in the catering software market and is projected to dominate the market during the forecast period. The region possesses robust technological advancement and the presence of leading players, such as Caterease, Gather, CaterTrax, PeachWorks, ChefMode, EventTemple, and Restaurant Catering Systems. As per ‘The Mobile Economy North America’ report published by GSM Association, the mobile industry contributed about USD 937 billion in 2018, with the smartphone adoption rate of 83%. Additionally, the region is home to a million restaurants that are swiftly adopting technologically advanced software solutions, further driving the market growth.
Asia-Pacific is witnessing the fastest growth in the catering software market. India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea are at the forefront of the regional market. Incorporation of e-commerce in catering software enables the customers to plan events in the comfort of home efficiently. As per the ‘GSMA Mobile Economy 2020’, a report by GSM Association, in 2019, the smartphone adoption rate in China was about 72%. As per Statista, the e-commerce market generated revenue of USD 1.2 trillion in 2019–20. Governments in the region are actively working to bolster market growth. For instance, the government of India launched a new initiative, Start-up India in 2015, which provides a platform for young entrepreneurs to develop their ideas.
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On the basis of the component, the catering software market is divided into solutions and services. The solutions segment is further divided into scheduling software, time tracking software, marketing software, order management, event planning, and others. The services segment is classified into consulting services, integration services, and other support and maintenance services.
Marketing catering software is an important aspect of the business. Email marketing, loyalty programs, client calls, referral systems, thank you program, customer reactivation, calendar management system, birthday program, catering ad templates, and postcard programs are some of the marketing techniques that the software offers in order to achieve new customers and retain the previous ones. Some of these programs offer benefits and discounts to the clients by offering attractive deals thus alluring the customers.
n the order management segment skilled specialists ensure the order is being processed with the right supplier by efficiently tracking it from the request to the delivery. Its main aim is to provide the customer with an overall amazing experience by keeping and utilizing the previous record of the customers’ purchase and payment history.
The scheduling software and the time tracking software act as a crucial part of the catering software. The scheduling software enables the user to schedule the events, and manage the daily tasks accordingly thus aiding in proper management and timely delivery of the order. Time tracking software is utilized as a productivity tool. It tracks the time of the activities and enables to work with efficiency. Additionally, the event planning segment mainly refers to the coordination, budgeting, acquiring permissions, theme development, managing risks, and planning food among others.
Services are an integral part of the catering software. The consulting services provided by the catering consultant focus on customer centricity, commercial sustainability, and others. Integration services facilitate the archival of data, transferring data from one source to another, loading of new data for the smooth software execution
On the basis of the deployment type, the catering software market is divided into on-premise and cloud-based.
The cloud-based segment holds the largest market share as it offers no data loss, increased data security, anytime use, scalability, disaster recovery, and reduced costs, among others. The on-premise software is located on the personal server and is extensively used by the restaurants to ensure security and efficiently manage data thus enabling it to have complete control over it.
On the basis of application, the catering software market is divided into parties, hotels, social events, corporates, and others.
Event management is one of the main aspects of parties and social events such as weddings and special events. They assist in efficiently and accurately managing the entire event as per the theme. The software enables a hassle-free experience to the client due to its various features prominently efficient order management, product management, and billing management. Furthermore, the catering software regularly serves the restaurants and the corporates for the daily orders. They help in providing easy management of the orders, a database to maintain the customers’ records and payment history, and a user-friendly experience of the software. Additionally, the marketing features help to boost the sales of the restaurants by attracting the clients.
