Beyond QR and UPI: How Tech is Quietly Rewiring Café Operations

QR menus and UPI payments may have changed how customers order coffee, but they haven’t really changed how cafes are built and run so far. But now, a real transformation is unfolding along with technology, say cafe owners. Behind the counter, technology is rewiring how cafés manage inventory, staffing, training, and even menu strategy, redefining what efficiency and scale look like in a category built on human interaction.

Industry data reflects the scale of the shift. Digital menus alone have been linked to a 10–20 per cent increase in average check value, while contactless ordering systems have reduced staffing costs by 12–18 per cent and cut order errors by nearly 38 per cent across India’s food sector. Yet many café operators argue that these metrics only scratch the surface of what technology can truly enable.

Thinking Beyond QR and UPI

“There is a movement towards tech adoption, and everyone is looking at it seriously, but the real question is what you want to get to the bottom of. QR menus, for example, are very shallow-level tech,” said Manan Chowdhry, CEO & Founder, Koby’s Coffee.

According to Chowdhry, consumer-facing technology in cafés largely falls into two buckets: engagement and convenience. Most brands, he added, have stopped at enabling online ordering and digital payments. “Beyond that, no meaningful layer of convenience has really been envisioned yet,” he said.

One exception, he noted, is self-ordering kiosks. “When customers punch in their own order, there’s less confusion and fewer errors. It’s a smoother, more private flow. From restaurant’s perspective, kiosks reduce manpower dependency and training requirements, and they minimise clerical and manual errors.”

Frictionless Habits, Not Replaced Experiences

For large-format operators, technology’s role is less about spectacle and more about habit formation. A spokesperson for McCafe, the cafe segment of McDonald’s India (W&S), said, digital adoption has quietly changed how coffee fits into daily life.

“Technology today, particularly for Gen Z and millennial is about subtly removing friction from everyday habits. Thanks to app-based ordering, UPI payments, and loyalty-driven programs, consuming coffee now feels more flexible and integrated into daily routines rather than a planned visit,” he mentioned.

The response to McCafé’s app-exclusive coffee subscription highlights this shift. “It reflects a clear shift from coffee as an occasional indulgence to a repeat, multi-occasion habit,” the spokesperson adds, driven by ease, transparency, and value.

Crucially, the brand sees digital tools as support systems rather than replacements. “Digital today will not replace the café experience but rather support the café experience by reducing decision fatigue and making the visit feel effortless.”

Quiet Tech, Human Spaces

For mid-sized and experiential cafés, the emphasis is on invisibility. Kaustubh Sawardekar, Beverage Manager, Yazu Hospitality, shared, technology at KICO Bangalore is intentionally designed to stay in the background.

“With the introduction of Air Menu and QR-enabled digital menus, guests can browse, order, and place repeat orders seamlessly from their phones,” he said, adding, “Digital ordering helps reduce wait times and supports a more relaxed, self-paced experience, something Gen Z and millennial guests increasingly value.”

At the same time, he is clear about boundaries. “Technology at KICO is not intended to replace human interaction. Instead, it works quietly in the background, supporting convenience while the focus remains on community, comfort, and connection.”

Loyalty, Data and Consistency at Scale

For multi-city café brands, technology increasingly determines consistency. Vikrant Batra, Co-Founder, Café Delhi Heights, added, digital tools were never adopted for trend value alone.

“From the very beginning, our focus has been on delivering a seamless and welcoming guest experience, not chasing trends,” he said. “Our loyalty programme has been in place since day one, allowing us to build long-term relationships rather than transactional visits.”

Operationally, data visibility has changed how teams’ function. “Technology has meaningfully improved operational clarity. This allows teams to focus more on hospitality rather than processes,” Batra explained, adding that technology cannot replace service culture. “Cafés are, first and foremost, social spaces.”

Platforms that help cafés improve speed and ease without compromising ambience are gaining traction. Abhishek Bose, CEO & Founder, My Menu, added, cafés are now competing on how effortlessly guests move through the experience. “Cafés today are no longer just competing on coffee and ambience, they’re competing on speed, ease, and how effortlessly a guest can move through the experience,” he said, adding that the goal is to let technology work quietly in the background while keeping the experience human.

Where Tech Actually Changes the Business

If front-end tools improve flow, back-end systems redefine economics. “Where tech truly adds value is on the back end,” sharedChowdhry. “Inventory management, consumption tracking, wastage control, recipe compliance, order planning, roster management, hiring, and training, this is where technology can be a real game changer.”

AI-driven analysis is already reshaping decision-making. “When we entered the coffee business, the assumption was that coffee meant hot beverages. But what we discovered was that nearly 65 per cent of our beverage sales are cold beverages,” he noted, adding that international data showed similar patterns. “AI helps you look deeper into seasonality and uncover trends that are almost invisible.”

Automation is also entering training. “I recently came across a system where training happens without human intervention. Such systems can cover 60–70 per cent of soft-skill training and around 50–60 per cent of hard-skill training without human involvement.   ”