Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions and services, today released the findings of its 2025 Food Service Management Industry Impact Study: Balancing Operational Excellence with Experience Innovation.
This comprehensive survey of 412 food service executives and technology decision-makers across healthcare, higher education, active adult communities and restaurant sectors unveils critical insights into the industry’s readiness to embrace preference-driven dining strategies, while highlighting significant challenges holding back adoption.
The potential of preference-driven dining is reflected in modern consumers’ expectations for personalized, seamless interactions across every touchpoint – from mobile ordering to in-person service. Research consistently shows that when consumers are offered preference-based choices, they spend up to 50% more per transaction. However, while 68% of food service executives want to deliver preference-driven dining experiences, 50% believe they need infrastructure upgrades to achieve this goal, and 60% cite budget or resource constraints as primary barriers.
Food service providers have the opportunity to meet growing consumer demand for seamless ‘service my way’ experiences across all channels. However, technology equipped to deliver these preference-driven capabilities, whether through mobile apps, kiosks, or integrated POS systems, is not yet pervasive across the industry. Terrie O’Hanlon, Senior Vice President at Agilysys
While there is strong interest in capitalizing on preference-driven dining’s potential to drive both operational efficiency and customer loyalty, our research reveals a concerning readiness gap,
O’Hanlon continued. Organizations that fail to bridge this gap not only risk missing substantial revenue opportunities in an expanding market but also increase the probability they will fall behind competitors investing in technology and processes geared toward understanding and serving individual customer preferences,
she warned.
Key findings include:
- Critical “Aspiration-Readiness Gap”: While 68% of food service executives want to deliver preference-driven dining experiences, 50% feel they need infrastructure upgrades to do so.
- Technology Transformation Considerations: To enable preference-driven dining, 49% of executives would consider switching POS providers, but only 40% are ready to take action.
- Sector-Specific Priorities: Experience-focused sectors (restaurants and higher education) prioritize personalization as competitive advantage, while necessity-focused sectors (healthcare and active adult communities) emphasize operational efficiency and cost management.
- Operational Excellence Focus: 60% of leaders prioritize increasing operational efficiency and profitability over the next two years, with 76% focused on improving day-to-day operations and inventory management.
- Implementation Concerns: 65% of leaders have delayed changing technology platforms due to concerns about implementation difficulty, while 61% cite upfront costs as barriers.
The 2025 Food Service Management Industry Impact Study highlights the advantages of expanding traditional operational mindsets to embrace Experience-Driven Dining Excellence – a holistic approach that balances operational efficiency with personalized experiences. This framework equips food service providers to capture the full spectrum of customer preferences while improving day-to-day operations and driving revenue growth.
The path to Experience-Driven Dining Excellence becomes achievable when food service executives embrace technology that seamlessly integrates operational efficiency with personalized customer experiences,
noted O’Hanlon. Preference-driven dining represents a movement in how organizations relate to each customer and monetize the moments that matter most. Food service providers that undertake this transition will set new standards for delivering personal, profitable dining experiences while achieving operational excellence,
she concluded.
This study offers a strategic framework for food service executives to bridge the preparedness gap, optimize both operational efficiency and customer experiences, and stay competitive in the evolving food service management landscape.
To access the full report, please visit: https://info.agilysys.com/agilysysfsmimpactstudy
About Agilysys
Agilysys exclusively delivers state-of-the-art hospitality software solutions and services that help organizations go beyond what they can accomplish with traditional property management systems (PMS), point-of-sale (POS) solutions and food and beverage inventory and procurement systems. Modern, state-of-the-art solutions work standalone to provide best-in-class capabilities, or together in a coordinated ecosystem that unifies data and workflows across a property, to equip staff members to delight guests, improve efficiency and grow margins. www.agilysys.com
Jen Reeves
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Agilysys