Fulfilling the expectation of customers with technology is slowly becoming a vital factor within many industries, not least the dining industry.

Through the simple use of smartphones and commercial gadgets available, consumers have become more tech savvy - and, in turn, this has seen many industries attempt to keep up with the pace of this fast-growing community.

Restaurants are gradually realising how important it is to stay in tune with technology and to constantly keep customers engaged - even if, at times, this may mean facing the challenges that come with such technology in order to overcome them.

According to Steven Murray, Zomato’s country manager and former CEO of Webfluential, one of Zomato’s main priorities is bridging the gap between the physical locations and online operations of each restaurant.

“Having a close relationship with many restaurants, we get to know what challenges they are facing, and at the moment, one of them is the lack of backroom technology within each restaurant,” explained Murray.

“Launching Zomato’s online ordering services in South Africa is one of the ways that we are trying to bridge this gap. Working professionals in South Africa are increasingly working longer hours, and it is these busier schedules that have had a positive impact on the home delivery and takeaway market - making it the ideal next step in Zomato's expansion plans.”

“Granted we were not the first to launch online ordering in South Africa but we do believe that we are the most comprehensive discovery platform and that within itself still makes us the best go-to restaurant app,” he said.

Building on its powerful search and discovery product, Zomato will now allow users in Johannesburg to order food online for home delivery from a selection of over 150 restaurants, including Burgerack, Stella Luna, Simply Asia, Sandwich Baron and Founder's Grill, to name a few.

The roll-out of this service is unlike Zomato’s competitors’, as restaurants are put in the driving seat - there is no middle man, orders go directly to restaurants and they have the power to accept or reject the orders.

“Restaurants do not have to worry about third parties being involved when providing user experiences - for example, a restaurant owner now can take ownership and accountability of the time it takes to make and deliver the meal,” Murray explains further.

“We do believe it is applications such as this one that will see more restaurants moving in the same direction as technology - convenience is what every user seeks and technology is assisting in making this possible.”

Zomato is targeting 250 orders per day across South Africa by the end of the current fiscal.

A significant portion of these orders is expected to come from Johannesburg.

Consumers can Order Online using either the Zomato App (available on iOS and Android) or the website and will soon be able to place orders online for takeaway as well.

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