We began last year’s trends article with a lament about the difficulties of 2024. Rising food prices, soaring energy costs and labour expenses had taken their toll on the restaurant sector, while heightened customer expectations were dialling up the pressure even further.
Fast-forward to 2026 and little has changed. If anything, those pressures have been exacerbated with the business rate increases unveiled in the Autumn Budget. As a result, some forecasters gloomily predict that more than 2,000 hospitality business will close in the absence of Government support.
In 2026, restaurant technology adoption is being driven less by innovation and more by operational pressure. Rising costs, labour shortages and increasingly exacting customer expectations have pushed operators to prioritise systems that remove friction, improve visibility and stabilise day-to-day operations across ordering, kitchen operations, payments and data reporting.
As a result, adoption trends now favour integrated, reliability-first platforms over experimental or novelty-driven tools.
So how are these challenges going to shape the industry in 2026? And what are the undercurrents that will influence how operators adapt and survive in such a brutal climate?
Despite falling inflation, cost-of-living pressures are getting worse, particularly with regard to food and energy costs. Customer price sensitivity is therefore likely to become even more pronounced in 2026, with sharpened expectations around speed, order accuracy and convenience.
It follows then that restaurant tech which reduces friction will take on even greater meaning. Seamless order and payment processing, menu accuracy and faster service look set to be the watchwords.
Complexity will become a liability in 2026 (if it hasn’t already), none more so than with the menu. More dishes mean more ingredients to manage and higher operational costs. And with supplier prices continuing to rise, albeit slowly, tighter, more focused menus will become increasingly critical, both for protecting margins and maintaining consistency.
Factor in the customer here too. Smaller menus mean less decision fatigue, faster ordering and less pressure. This of course ties in with the experience.
Restaurant menu engineering will be critical then, enabling operators to pinpoint dishes that earn their place and those that introduce unnecessary costs.
As well as tighter menus, smaller dishes will matter more in 2026 for the same reason streamlined menus do: they reduce risk and protect perceived value. As price sensitivity increases and appetites change due to GLP-1 medications, customers will be less willing to pay for excess volume. Smaller portions should help meet expectations around quality and value while supporting consistency, faster service and better margin control.
With rising costs and tighter labour conditions, revenue alone will no longer be a reliable indicator of performance. Instead, operators will need granular real-time insights into the profitability of each dish, channel and service period so that they’re able to identify loss-making areas, inefficient service and underperforming items. In 2026, growth and business longevity will be driven by restaurant management platforms that allow for continuous visibility.
5. Supplier Shortages and Price Instability Will Demand Smarter Management
Commodity shortages and volatile supplier prices are going to require sound strategies in the months ahead. In response to the former, many operators are already rethinking how they source food, with supplier diversification and hyper-localisation gaining traction.
Addressing fluctuating prices, however, will require more intelligent management. Systems that support price thresholds and variance tracking will become increasingly important, helping operators spot price drift early and strengthen their negotiating position.
As price sensitivity and time constraints intensify, more diners will seek the kind of speed, convenience and predictability provided by QSRs. Conversely, a sizeable proportion of customers will save up for quality dining experiences that offer atmosphere, occasion and emotional return.
It’s a trend that’s gathering momentum in the UK which is causing the middle ground to erode. This has been felt by some of the biggest names in the family-orientated, mid-price sector.
7. Real-Time Data Will Become Even More Critical
In 2026, data will no longer be a ‘nice-to-have’ tool for gathering retrospective insights. Instead, it will become integral to day-to-day decision-making. Restaurant management systems featuring comprehensive real-time data visibility will proliferate as operators look to address margin pressures, labour inefficiencies and rising operational costs. Centralised access to timely, actionable data will be even more critical in facilitating faster, more impactful decisions.
With staff shortages, high turnover and labour costs a painful reality across the sector, the onus on operators will be to reconfigure operations so that fewer people are required in the first place. A greater reliance on technology therefore seems inevitable. This won’t be about people replacement per se, but about removing duplication and manual effort from everyday workflows.
As order volume continues to fragment across dine-in, delivery and click-and-collect, multi-channel management will take on greater significance. With each channel bringing its own pricing logic, prep flow and margin profile, the strain of managing these in parallel is going to become an issue for many operators.
For those without automated, end-to-end workflows in place, problems will surface as pricing inconsistencies, reactive kitchens and inefficient front-of-house operations. Ultimately, this will lead to a gradual erosion of margins as opposed to a single, obvious failure point.
In 2026, trust will increasingly be influenced by how visible and predictable restaurant operations feel to customers. Order status, timing accuracy and communication about delays are already becoming noticeable points of judgement, especially given current expectations around speed and convenience. Operations that seem opaque and inconsistent may therefore suffer, even if their food quality remains strong. Success will depend on projecting a sense of confidence and control.
Heading into 2026, restaurant operations are being influenced by the cumulative weight of exterior pressures and structural constraints. Rising costs, labour problems and evolving customer expectations are persistent conditions that show no sign of dissipating anytime soon.
For a majority of operators, success will not depend on bold reinvention, but on clarity, control and consistency. Those that manage to adapt to these trends will be better positioned to weather what remains a highly unforgiving climate.