Independent Restaurants Running on Toast’s All-in-One Platform Outperform Peers by up to 30% During Pandemic
Investments in digital ordering and contactless payments technology allowed Toast to significantly grow their customer community and increase recurring revenue by ~70%
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#COVID19—Toast, the fastest-growing restaurant management platform, today announced the 2020 results of its investments in the restaurant community. During the pandemic, Toast took steps to support the industry through rapid product innovation, advocacy on Capitol Hill for restaurant financial relief, and dedicated recovery efforts through more than $40 million in software relief and access to working capital loans for the Toast community.
These actions helped restaurants innovate, navigate the COVID-19 health crisis, and deliver new experiences to meet rapidly changing guest expectations. As a result, Toast’s customer community grew to over 40,000 restaurant locations and recurring revenue increased by 70 percent in 2020.
“While 2020 was an incredibly challenging year for our restaurant community, we focused our efforts at Toast on providing restaurants with access to the technology, advice, and relief they needed to delight guests, do what they love, and survive a challenging year,” said Chris Comparato, CEO at Toast. “As we look ahead to 2021, we remain focused on providing restaurants of all sizes with access to the technology they need to compete with major brands, reimagine their business models, and safely welcome guests back to their restaurants during the year.”
Toast and the Restaurant Community: Growth in 2020
From March to December, 2020, Toast processed nearly 50 million guest orders through Toast digital ordering platforms. Additionally:
- Toast restaurants that adopted new digital technology fared better during the pandemic than those that did not: Throughout 2020, COVID-19 had a devastating impact on restaurant sales. However, independent restaurants that quickly adopted the Toast All-in-One Platform were able to mitigate the impact on sales by 10 to 30 percentage points when compared to restaurants that failed to quickly activate digital tools such as Toast Online Ordering, Toast Marketing, Toast Loyalty, and Toast Delivery Services™.
- Restaurants took control of third party delivery commissions with Toast Delivery Services™: During the pandemic, Toast introduced flat-fee delivery for restaurants to empower them with the benefits of third party delivery paired with the ability to pass delivery costs on to their guests. For independent restaurants that turned on Toast Delivery Services™ during summer and fall 2020, revenue increased by ~10 percent in the month following activation.
- Restaurants adopted Toast’s contactless payment tools at a staggering rate during the pandemic: Nearly 25,000 locations adopted Toast’s new contactless technologies in 2020. Independent restaurants that activated QR code-based Toast Order & Pay during summer and fall 2020 saw, in aggregate, a ~20 percent increase in revenue for the month following adoption compared to the month before activation.
Empowering Restaurants to Delight Guests, Do What They Love, and Thrive
With nearly 70 percent of Toast employees coming from the restaurant industry, the company is deeply committed to addressing the challenges that restaurateurs face in running their businesses. As a result, key activities in 2020 focused on lifting up the restaurant community through efforts including:
- Launching Rally for Restaurants™, a movement to provide a lifeline to restaurants suffering from shutdowns as well as government lobbying for financial relief;
- Accelerating the production of commission-free and flat-fee digital commerce products including Toast Go® 2, Toast Order & Pay, Toast Delivery Services™, and Toast Now™;
- Providing over $40 million in financial support including SaaS relief, free software offers, and access to capital for Toast customers; and,
- Supporting the restaurant community in taking action against the disproportionate injustices that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) working in the restaurant industry face; see here to learn more.
Restaurant owners and operators can learn more about Toast and schedule a personalized demo here.
About Toast
Launched in 2013, Toast is democratizing technology for restaurants of all sizes. Built exclusively for restaurants and driven by a passion to enable their success, Toast connects employees, operations, and guests on an easy-to-use platform so restaurateurs can stay one step ahead of a rapidly evolving hospitality market. Tens of thousands of restaurants partner with Toast to increase revenue, streamline operations, retain great employees, and create raving fans. Toast was named to Fortune’s 2020 Best Workplaces in Technology, 2020 Forbes Fintech 50, 2020 Forbes Cloud 100, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2020 Listing – National Overall Winner, and the 2019 SXSW Interactive Innovation Finals. Learn more at www.toasttab.com.
Contacts
Karen DeVincent-Reinbold
Sr. PR & communications manager
[email protected]
857-301-6074
