5 Reasons Why Self-Serve Alcohol is Great For Restaurants
Chris Porcaro, a recent patron of Washington, D.C.’s Walters Sports Bar, sauntered up to the stainless steel wall studded with beer taps, pushed in a card, touched a screen (much like how an ATM works—but with such different results), and poured himself a beer.
No sweaty, yelling, thronging masses to shout over. No waiting. He just pulled the tap and BAMM, the beer was his.
"This is my first time doing a beer wall!" he said, looking into a yeasty IPA. "I've been to many sports bars, but never a beer-wall sports bar."
Sounds like he loved it—as so many people do—as restaurant operators do—especially the fast casual operators who’ve adopted self-pour alcohol.
And here are some of the reasons why:
Increased revenue & profit
More glowing patron reviews online
Reduction in labor costs
Differentiation from other restaurants
Customers seem to tip about 15% after their self-pour experience, even though they did all the work
For customers and operators, self-pour’s a gold mine of fun… and potential profits. One-third of all consumers say their decision to go to a restaurant is based on whether alcohol is served, so adding self-pour to fast casual is a great way to capitalize on this thirsty market.
So, What are the Top 5 Reasons to Self-Pour?
#1
Exactly what happened to our guy, Chris Porcaro, at D.C.’s Walters Sports Bar:
No waiting
No haggling
No shouting
No straining over the crowd to get your drink
You just walk up and pour your own—easy, simple, and fun.
Plus, patrons are more likely to try higher priced, premium beers or wines, because they don’t have to commit to a full bottle of whatever, which brings us to:
#2
Customers prefer “sampling” their drinks.
If guests have to order a full-bottle of a premium brand to give it a taste, they probably won’t. But, if they can sample a few ounces (the way they can at a self-pour wall), they probably will.
And that’s how fast casual operators can differentiate their brand and thrill their customers.
#3
Patrons tend to drive farther to reach self-pour destinations, as well as linger longer, and spend more money. Fast casual operators who offer self-pour alcohol tend to see an average increase of alcohol sales in the neighborhood of 40%.
According to research, restaurant patrons say that consuming alcoholic drinks (whether self-pour or not) inclines them to think more highly of their experience. It increases their loyalty to a brand, and raises their likelihood of returning to a specific restaurant.
#4
For fast casual operators, self-pour makes it easy to check customers in and out, keep an eye on consumption (usually monitored by the installed self-pour system), and see real-time customer data. Furthermore, it’s understood within the restaurant industry, that alcohol sales increases food sales.
iPourit, one of the nation’s leaders in self-pour alcohol, reports that one of their clients increased their alcohol revenues from $3,000 to $38,000 per month—and their dine-in sales by 433%!
#5
Because various self-pour systems collect things like driver’s license data—they capture age, gender, and zip code. Fast casual restaurant operators can easily learn their patrons’ habits, which can help them alter their self-pour operations to increase sales.
Reports like…
How many want craft beer?
What age are they?
Who wants white wine?
Who’s cost sensitive?
Who prefers straight liquor?
...provide valuable data that can improve operations, increase sales, differentiate a brand and increase profits.
So, what’s not to like about self-pour alcohol, especially in this strange time that favors touchless-everything?