The restaurant landscape is evolving rapidly, and 2025 promises to be a pivotal year for operators who are ready to embrace change. We gathered top industry leaders to discuss the trends surfaced in our 2025 State of Digital Report.
They shared what’s working, what’s not, and where the smart money is going. Here are the highlights from the webinar conversation:
1. The First-Party Challenge: Hard But Worth Fighting For
Getting guests to order directly from you, instead of through third-party platforms, remains the holy grail—and it’s tougher than most operators realize.
“It’s challenging, almost impossible to fully shift people from third-party platforms,” admits Lauriena Borstein, the COO from WOWorks.
The winning strategy isn’t abandoning third-party platforms entirely, but making your direct ordering experience irresistible. DIG’s “Tap out of cooking and tap DIG in” campaign shows how emotional storytelling can create that crucial direct connection with guests.
The takeaway: Focus on making your first-party experience exceptional, not just available.
2. Meet Your New MVP: The Chief Translation Officer (CTO)
Modern restaurant tech stacks are a patchwork of systems that rarely play nice together. Enter the “Chief Translation Officer”—the person who bridges IT, operations, and marketing.
Chris Demery, the CTO from Blaze Pizza, describes his role as “part translator” for his Marketing and Operations counterparts — ensuring data and systems work for every team, not just tech vendors. It’s about making data actionable for everyone, from the GM to the marketing manager.
The takeaway: Someone needs to own the translation between tech and operations—make sure that someone exists at your company.
3. Kiosks Are Coming for Fast Casual
Here’s a stat that might surprise you: 62% of brands are using or rolling out kiosks in 2025. While QSRs lead at 80%, fast casual is catching up quickly.
The reason is simple—kiosks boost check averages and help with upselling without hurting tips. But success requires smart kitchen design and careful attention to guest flow. Done wrong, kiosks create bottlenecks instead of efficiency.
The takeaway: “Kiosks are coming to fast casual. Get ahead of the curve,” says Demery.
4. Data Is Your Competitive Edge (If You Use It Right)
Everyone has data. Not everyone knows what to do with it. The most successful brands are unifying guest profiles to deliver “Netflix-level” personalization.
“There’s no shortage of [data]. It’s really about what we do with it,” explains Demery.
The focus now is consolidating tech stacks and activating data to drive smarter decisions and better guest experiences.
The takeaway: Stop collecting data and start connecting it.
5. Loyalty 3.0: Beyond Points and Discounts
Forget just giving dollars off. Today’s best loyalty programs offer early access to new menu items, surprise merchandise drops, and exclusive experiences.
“We’re having a lot more fun building and deepening our relationship with our guests, as opposed to just blindly discounting them,” says Jessica Serrano, the CMO from DIG.
For multi-brand operators, the challenge is letting guests earn and redeem across concepts without destroying margins.
The takeaway: Build relationships, not just transactions.
6. Catering's Comeback Story
With offices reopening, catering is surging—24% of brands are making it a key focus for 2025. The numbers are compelling: while someone might spend $20 dining in, catering guests often spend $500 or more per order.
But catering requires a completely different relationship and business model than regular dine-in service.
The takeaway: If you’re not thinking about catering, you’re leaving serious money on the table.
7. The Kitchen Gets Its Tech Glow-Up
After years of innovation in front-of-house technology, kitchen technology is finally having its moment. Order accuracy is the number one priority, especially for off-premise orders, where a single mistake can ruin the entire guest experience.
Brands are investing heavily in kitchen display systems and new workflows to ensure every order is perfect.
The takeaway: Your kitchen tech is just as important as your guest-facing tech.
The Bottom Line
Every trend points to the same conclusion: winning in 2025 means using data intentionally. Whether you’re rolling out kiosks, revamping loyalty, or investing in kitchen tech, success comes from unifying, translating, and activating your data to deliver unforgettable guest experiences.
As Chris Demery puts it, “Information is powerful. You just have to define what you want, then gradually reveal its value to prove ROI.”
The question isn’t whether these trends will impact your business; it’s whether you’ll get ahead of them or get left behind.
Want the full story? Watch our complete webinar for deeper insights and actionable strategies from industry leaders.
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