Five Ways to Use POS Data to Forecast Holiday Demand for Your Restaurant

The holiday season is a huge calendar event in the restaurant industry, with bookings booming as guests look to let their hair down and enjoy a festive feast.

Over the Christmas season, 63 percent of adults plan to eat out so your restaurant needs to be prepared for the increase in demand. Utilizing insights from your POS data will help you make informed decisions that predict how demand will look in the lead up to the big day.

In this article, we delve into five key ways that you should be using your POS data to forecast holiday demand for your restaurant.

Analyze Previous Holiday Sales Data

Past sales data is invaluable when it comes to planning the upcoming season. A restaurant point-of-sale system holds historical data so you can see a detailed breakdown of how your restaurant sales performed during previous Christmas seasons.

By comparing the data from previous years with the current year-to-date sales, you can predict how your festive season will look and gain a better idea of what to expect.

As well as looking into the overall season, you can use previous sales data to break stats down by time of the day and day of the week to identify common peaks and troughs. For example, you may notice your restaurant is particularly busy on weekends immediately before the big day, allowing you to best prepare for the rush.

Improve Seasonal Menu Offerings

When it comes to the holidays, consumers love to tuck into festive favorites. It’s the perfect season for experimenting with new menu items that align with previous seasonal trends.

Delve into previous POS data to see which dishes your customers were steering towards during the lead up to Christmas. Whether it was your signature menu items, seasonal specials, or a festive holiday cocktail that puts a new spin on a classic, tailoring your menu can grab the attention of those looking to try something new.

By utilizing the data available from your POS system, you can figure out what dishes were most popular during holiday seasons and use this to chef up a storm.

Plan Employee Rotas To Meet Demand

Reservations on group bookings of 10 or more people are currently up 38 percent in comparison to this time in 2023. With the lead up to Christmas being the season for work parties, family gatherings, and social get-togethers, the influx of larger groups means your restaurant needs to be prepared.

Use your POS data to predict the busiest times and ensure you are ready to maintain fast and friendly customer service. Scheduling in extra members of staff to help accommodate the large bookings and packed-out restaurant will ensure your service remains efficient without overworking your employees.

As well as ensuring your customers are provided with a great customer experience and delicious food, accommodating for the busy period will ensure your workforce remains happy. A manageable workload and smooth-running workplace will keep your employee satisfaction high so you don’t have to worry about unhappy workers.

Predict Inventory Needs

Your POS system can use past data to estimate how much stock is needed to meet upcoming demand in your restaurant. 

From past years, it is clear which items were the most popular and based on this, extra stock can be ordered in to ensure festive favorites do not run out. Certain items such as cranberries, turkey, and stuffing which may not be so popular during the rest of the year are going to boom during the Christmas season, so ordering these in advance will ensure you are ready to face the crowds.

On the other hand, no restaurant wants to risk overordering. Having food go out of date or facing struggles with storage space will cause unnecessary difficulty, so using the POS system to create accurate inventory estimates will ensure you are managing stock efficiently.

Monitor Real-Time Customer Behavior

When the holiday season arrives, it is important to keep your foot on the gas. Although using predictions from previous years’ data helps your restaurant best prepare, there is still a chance that you will face unexpected hurdles.

External factors such as weather, last-minute bookings, and local competition can change how your forecast looks. By keeping an eye on your real-time POS data in comparison to your predictions, you can quickly identify whether you are above or below sales expectations and adjust your operations accordingly.

Catching any changes in customer behavior early on will allow you to make immediate adjustments, stocking up on low inventory or making changes to staffing.

Finalizing the Season for Success

Using existing data from your restaurant’s POS system will ensure you can prepare for the upcoming festive season to maximize sales and create an unbeatable customer experience. 

Through analyzing past data, revamping your menu, organizing the staff rota, preparing your inventory, and keeping on top of real-time sales, your restaurant will be fully equipped to breeze through the holidays with efficiency.

By creating a restaurant environment filled with festive cheer for both customers and employees, you will be offering a memorable dining experience that encourages guests to come back time after time in the future.