This paper presents secondary market research on a proposed online restaurant table reservation and pre-order meal service. Drawing on industry sources and Pew Research Center data, the paper surveys the existing landscape of online reservation platforms such as OpenTable and online food ordering services, assessing their respective market penetration and user demographics. It evaluates the technology required, identifies the most likely customer segments — including event planners, business travelers, and tech-savvy younger adults — and outlines targeted marketing strategies. The paper also explores expansion opportunities, such as integrating the service with tourism and chamber of commerce websites, ultimately concluding that the concept is feasible but faces competitive and behavioral challenges.
The paper demonstrates effective secondary market research synthesis: the author compiles data from multiple independent sources (industry reporting, academic texts, and demographic studies) to build a coherent picture of market viability, rather than relying on any single source. This triangulation of evidence strengthens the feasibility argument even where individual data points reveal weaknesses.
The paper opens by defining the proposed service, then separates the two core components — table reservations and food pre-ordering — into distinct research sections before reuniting them to assess combined viability. A technology and demographics section bridges the research to the customer analysis. The final sections move from marketing strategy to expansion possibilities and end with a forward-looking conclusion. This funnel structure — broad industry context narrowing to specific actionable recommendations — is well-suited to a feasibility-style business research paper.
The online restaurant table reservation and pre-order meal service described in this paper would allow users to reserve tables at upscale restaurants and also pre-order from the menu at the same time. This secondary market research examines the existing landscape of online reservation and food-ordering platforms, the technology infrastructure available, target customer segments, and marketing strategies suited to bringing such a combined service to market.
For restaurant enthusiasts, busy administrative assistants, and others who need to make table reservations, online restaurant table reservation services such as OpenTable are a valuable resource. They allow consumers to make reservations at select, upscale restaurants without having to look up phone numbers or make calls. While such a service lacks the romance of taking a leisurely stroll downtown to gaze at posted menus and catch the aromas drifting from open doors, it is convenient and saves time for the many people who frequent upscale restaurants. For example, online reservation services enable a customer to make multiple reservations in multiple cities — a significant benefit for traveling businesspeople and the assistants responsible for arranging their schedules. It also helps when one wants to reserve a table at a popular restaurant on a high-demand day such as Valentine's Day.
OpenTable.com has enjoyed great success since its inception in 1999. By 2000, over 350 restaurants in eight cities were using OpenTable's services (Andrews, 2000). According to a 2010 article in the New York Times, the platform had become so successful that many of the restaurants using it had grown somewhat resentful of its fees (Stross, 2010). OpenTable, valued at over $1.6 billion, charges restaurants a $650 setup fee and then a monthly charge of approximately $270 for terminals and table-management software (Stross, 2010). In addition, there is a reservation fee of $1 per customer, bringing the company's average monthly revenue from each participating restaurant to roughly $635, as the company reported to the New York Times in 2010 (Stross, 2010).
In the twelve years since it launched, OpenTable grew from serving over 350 restaurants to being used in 13,000 restaurants across the United States that accept reservations (Stross, 2010). Several other businesses offer similar services, including RezBook and Urbanspoon.com.
Unlike online table reservations — used primarily by upscale restaurants — online food ordering services are used mostly by fast food and casual dining establishments. Some chain restaurants like Domino's and Pizza Hut operate their own online ordering platforms. Other services, such as Delivery.com and CampusFood.com, provide online ordering for local takeout restaurants, allowing customers to place orders for either delivery or pickup depending on their preference and the restaurant's available options.
While many fast food restaurants were already set up to take orders remotely by phone, the transition to online ordering has not been as popular as anticipated. According to Mary Ellen Guffey in Business Communication: Process and Product, a representative from one pizza franchise reported that out of 145 orders received, only five were placed online, while the rest came by phone (Guffey, 2010). Guffey also noted that another pizza franchise estimated that only 10–12% of its business came from online orders (Guffey, 2010). Concerns about transmitting private information over the Internet, combined with the speed and simplicity of phone orders, have contributed to online food ordering's slower adoption (Guffey, 2010).
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