Bakeries to experiment new order (terminals)

While the digitalization of the customer journey has become essential for most fast food operators, the bakery seems to be resisting. The order terminals remain few implanted there, particularly due to the very nature of commerce, concentrated around showcases and products prepared in advance. With the rise of snacking, the need to quickly serve customers in rush hour and the digital habits of new generations, such tools could still find their place within shops.

The bakery is still not a fast food establishment like the others. This is what emerges from the observation that can be made in the field, both within large retailers and among independent bakers. Several market players have carried out experiments around the control terminal, without massive implementation for the moment. "These equipment can appeal to a young audience, very early on accustomed to digital control," defends Nicolas Sieller, president of Synapsy, a company specializing in cash collection within the food trades. Among these new generations of consumers, a form of "social isolation" is unfolding, with a marked acceleration following the Covid-19 pandemic. Sociological studies conducted in the United States reveal that the average time spent on social interactions decreased by around 20% in the American territory between 2000 and 2024. This contraction of exchanges with others even reaches 40% among teenagers. Europe is not spared by the phenomenon, generating possible affections in terms of social cohesion. If the challenge is imposed at the level of society, it is equally significant for merchants, who must adapt their way of welcoming the public.

A shop window business facing the reflection of a changing society

While the bakery was seen as a place of meeting and socialization, it could take the same path as the rest of the catering or retail businesses. "Beyond the customer journey within the point of sale, it is the totality of the relationship that a customer maintains with the merchant that reinvents itself. To confirm this, one of our clients told us an unusual anecdote: he frequently receives orders to deliver... in the floors of the same building! Rather than going down to the store, some consumers prefer to receive their products directly at home, despite geographical proximity," says Nicolas. The very nature of the way in which bread and gourmet specialists sell their products, however, remains significantly different from that of a restaurant owner: while they manufacture to order, bakers prepare the products well before consumption. "The bakery is a shop window business," he confirms.

This means that using an order terminal deprives products of their best argument: the visual demonstration of their freshness and quality, offered by their physical presence under the eyes of customers. Within La Brioche Dorée brand, the new store concept, currently being rolled out over renovations and point of sale openings, excludes for the time being the use of order terminals to preserve this contact between the product and the customer. However, for such companies, the tool has qualities useful for operations. In contact with international clients, they allow to serve without language barrier, while conducting additional sales operations not very obvious when speaking a foreign language. BO&MIE, which has six stores in Paris and several locations in the region as well as internationally (Aix-en-Provence, Seoul, Jeddah...), has thus deployed order terminals in several units of its shops. While their use remains limited during off-peak hours, they prove useful during the lunch period, which is particularly strategic for this type of actors. "The customers perceive this equipment as a queue-cut," confirms Nicolas Sieller. In reality, the command terminal makes full sense in establishments pushing further the cursors of hybridization, with an offer of ready-made cuisine, by allowing to differentiate the flows between customers who have come to order a product presented in the showcase or a reference manufactured on demand.

Artisans facing recruitment difficulties

Another weighty argument is the heavy burden of recruiting, training and retaining sales teams. Faced with the constraints and burdens on the shoulders of bakers, the temptation to do without -totally or partially- sales staff could gain momentum. The order terminal would then become the keystone of an autonomous shop, without human presence. Far from being science fiction, the format has already been adopted by business leaders such as Marie and Frédéric Rat, based in Pommeret (22). Their shop Délices des Anges has reinvented itself to adopt this format, reducing the complexity of business operations. Additional proof that digital technology has not finished reinventing the sales experience, including in a traditional profession such as baking.