NORDSTROM Restaurant Application
Background
While working at Nordstrom I frequented the Nordstrom Grill almost every time I worked. I would often see many of my other coworkers filing in line either finding a find a seat or for carryout. I would get emails from the Nordstrom Grill and the Cafe with pictures of new menu items that looked delicious, yet none of these emails were available to the public, which is a shame since Nordstrom Restaurants rotate specials frequently. As other restaurants have moved to PDF format menus for indoor dining to partnering with DoorDash, GrubHub, etc, Nordstrom is in a unique position to capitalize on touchless menus because of the existing mobile app, and credit card system. With social distancing being a major concern, this is an opportune time to move to an environmentally friendly menu format while cutting costs on wasteful paper menus.
Who are we helping?
Like many other Nordstrom Employees, I frequented the Nordstrom Grill as well as the Cafe, and as such, I would call them ahead of time and often be placed on hold, sometimes I would just give up walk over to the grill, wait in line along with many other employees just to place a to-go order. Of course, it was a frustrating experience, but for visitors of Nordstrom who see that line, it could mean heading over to a different restaurant and thus leaving Nordstrom and any sales for the restaurant as well as the store itself.
The idea of having restaurants and bars in-store is to have an experience rather than just to just shop. But if they can’t get seated or are afraid of who was last touching the paper menus, they may leave to find another restaurant, and may not come back.
- Nordstrom Employees that routinely have lunch at the Grill or Cafe
- Customers who want carryout.
- Customers who want to use their Nordstrom card.
Personas
The Online Experience
Having the restaurant menu be an openable PDF is simple enough for most people, and in many ways, it serves the needs of social distancing. What it doesn’t do is leverage the full Nordstrom App or better serve Nordstrom customers.
Additionally, a PDF format menu doesn’t account for the many different restaurants that Nordstrom has. There are the Cafe, Grill, and Bistro menus. There would be a lot of disappointment (There are 7 restaurants in our Manhattan store alone.)
What would be needed is an app that could host Nordstrom restaurants that also detect the customers’ location. This would give visitors the correct restaurants at Nordstrom store they intend to visit.
The reality is, customers are already ordering online:
- Online orders through mobile apps became a $38 billion industry.
- 61% of consumers say delivery apps like DoorDash are easy to use.
- Even with DoorDash and UberEats, 70% prefer to order directly from the restaurant.
Why Should Nordstrom go Mobile?
- From 2015-2018 the number of people ordering food through a smartphone app has gone from 11% to 38%.
- 34% of consumers spend at least $50 per order online compared to full-service restaurants where it is $18-30.
Customers are getting comfortable using mobile apps as a form of contact rather than ordering over the phone (which has to be answered by a person). With an app in place, carry-out orders from employees and customers on their lunch breaks can be expedited, freeing up lines of people while reducing paper menus and promoting a more environmentally friendly company.
Why Should Nordstrom have a dedicated Mobile APP?
Simply, put Nordstrom already has an app in place, so why not expand on the existing framework to make Nordstrom Restaurant menus accessible while using their Nordstrom mobile payment options to a stronger build brand loyalty from fashion to food.
- 52% of consumers trust a restaurant’s own branded app over 3rd party food portal apps (DoorDash, UberEats).
- 45% of consumers say that offering a dedicated app would encourage them to use the app more often.
Our target audience most likely has already downloaded the Nordstrom App. If a mobile format is integrated into the Nordstrom app our customers can literally flip through our menu, order food, and flip back and look at that dress they wanted that also happens to be on the same floor.
Prototype
Benefits
No longer do you have to wait on the phone to hear the menu or place an order. You could simply click and order.
No waiting in long lines you could just make reservations on the spot.Want to try something new? Featured images of the weekly specials. Forgot your wallet? Want to use your Nordy Notes? Or do you just want to slim down your wallet by not carrying around another card? Just pay through the app and earn some points!