The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted many industries and thrust many businesses into the unknown. One industry that has been particularly confronted with an unprecedented challenge is the hospitality industry.
Many strategies put into place to ensure the safety of the community and to flatten the curve have resulted in the temporary closure of hospitality businesses and significant decrease in demand for businesses that have continued to operate.
Limiting restaurants and cafes to takeaway only was a big shift for many, but if this has proven one thing, it is that Australian business owners are adaptable.
Enter Bopple
An online ordering and payment platform for cafes and restaurants, Bopple showed up for the hospitality industry that was struggling through COVID-19. It utilised its impressive ecosystem of services and tools that empowers everyone to be successful online and brought it to those who needed it most by making it available nation-wide in Australia and in New Zealand.
“Bopple provides an affordable and accessible alternative for businesses to get online sooner, which is more critical now than ever,” co-founder Angus McLachlan says.
“We helped and continue to help hundreds of amazing hospitality partners and brands own the shift to online ordering and payments, extending their experiences and services beyond the counter.
“We manage the complexity, giving our venue partners the best chance to start, grow and succeed online, no matter where they are in the world.”
This includes giving businesses the ability to choose what they offer, whether that be dinner orders, grocery boxes, drinks and everything in between, to stop relying on third-party networks to deliver orders and be fully in control of their customer delivery fee, delivery times and delivery radius. And it is also allowing rural towns to be involved in ways that were previously out of scope.
A helping hand
Helping local businesses continue transacting during COVID-19 by allowing them to easily pivot to home delivery has been a highlight for the Bopple team.
“COVID-19 may have been the catalyst for over 2,000 businesses adopting online ordering, but there was also considerable growth in app users and orders placed during this time,” Angus says.
“Bopple previously championed takeaway and table ordering for many successful venues and in response to COVID-19 we also deployed self-delivery. This service appealed to a large number of hospitality operators including industry body Restaurant & Catering Association, and point-of-sale platform Kounta.”
In response to the ongoing COVID-Safe requirements of hospitality venues across Australia, Bopple launched a contactless Guest Check-In service, using QR code technology that’s supported by most smartphone cameras, requiring no extra downloads.
“This free feature is our way of continuing to support the hospitality industry throughout this challenging time,” Angus says.
All of the features Bopple offers are 100% scaleable, allowing it to lend a helping hand to businesses of all sizes.
In action
Happy Boy in Brisbane is the perfect example of a business that Bopple helped to pivot during COVID-19.
“It was facing shutdown due to escalating restrictions, but after pivoting to takeaway and offering its own delivery service through Bopple, it was able to rehire many of its staff, remain open, and even opened another venue called Kid Curry,” Angus says.
“In one month, it saved over $5,000 by delivering orders with its own staff and it continues to use the Bopple platform as COVID-Safe restrictions impact its dine-in trade.”
Happy Boy co-owner Cameron Votan talked to Broadsheet about their experience with Bopple, saying the platform was a game-changer when it came to kick starting takeaway and delivery at the restaurant.
The Bopple difference
Other than the range of features and ease of usage, Bopple doesn’t take a crippling 30%-35% fee on orders placed with your favourite establishment, unlike other popular food delivery apps.
The subscription-based app gives businesses a viable option for takeaway with the payment fee being only 3.3%-5.9% on each order (depending on your subscription) and the money is with the business within 24 to 48 hours rather than 1-2 weeks.
