Trending: 3 Restaurant Trends to Watch in 2025

Happy New Year! We hope your holidays were joyous and you got some much-deserved rest before hitting the ground running in 2025.

Now that decorations are taken down and resolutions are already being broken, we thought we’d take a look at look around and see what trends are projected to shape the new year.

Brands will adopt more digital consumer-facing technology & More restaurants are willing to adopt automated back-of-house technology

Okay, we cheated. These are two separate trends, but we’re seeing one common theme between them: AI in restaurants.

This is where we see the application of AI technology becoming so powerful. It has so many uses in the restaurant industry: inventory automation, analytical assistance, upsells – the list goes on and on.

In fact, 43% of respondents to TD Bank’s November survey said they believe using AI to evaluate customer data and predict market shifts will have the greatest impact.

That’s why Ziosk is creating our own version of AI completely tailored for restaurant operators. Debuting later this year, it will be a game-changer when it comes to analyzing and interpreting the large amount of information restaurants have about their customers and their operation. Those daily reports and survey results are about to get a lot easier to read.

It will turn this data into intelligence and give concrete action steps to follow to improve the guest experience, operations, and, in the end, the bottom line. With AI technology, we will give our partners more actionable insights to help them run a smarter operation.

Much more to come on this down the road.

Restaurants will focus more on customer service and in-store experiences

The guest experience is the bread and butter of any restaurant. The goal, as always, is to create a place where people want to come back to again and again. It’s suggested that brands will move to include more experiential dining elements at their locations – taking their in-store experience to the next level.

This can come to life in a number of different ways – open kitchens, table layout, décor, how meals are brought to the table, even the self-serve condiment bars that Starbucks is bringing back are all part of what consumers experience when they come into your restaurant. Check out these tips on how to fine-tune your guest experience that we shared before.

This is where Ziosk can really make a difference for brands. We’re a big part of customer service – providing a branded digital experience that empowers guests to order and pay without the server present. This unique combination of time savings, convenience and hospitality are how we help our partners keep guests coming back.

Consumer demand should pick up

Believe it or not, consumer spending is up year-over-year and is unlikely to change unless there’s a major shift in the macroeconomy. The industry is also turning a corner on inflation – price increases have slowed since 2022.

That’s good news for restaurants, as guests are looking to treat themselves and willing to spend to do it. Though they’re being more selective in terms for occasion and frequency, the recent push for value marketing has been capturing guests’ attention and helping draw them in.

Time is money, and Ziosk represents a major value play for guests. We let guests dine and leave on their terms, helping facilitate a great experience that keeps them coming back again and again.

2025 should be a year unlike any other for the restaurant industry. If AI implementations rise, in-restaurant experiences improve and demand holds strong, the industry could look a lot different when 2026 rolls around.