You are probably already busy getting ready for and serving this holiday season. For many, it runs mid-December through post-Australia Day - a critical window to drive revenue and set the coming year to success.

Talking to the best operators about how they are gearing up reveals a range of strategies you can benefit from.

Tip #1: Digitise to Sell More with Less

The pressure of staffing shortages and costs during the holiday season aren’t new news. While we are already in the holiday season, now is the time to ramp or start your journey to growing your digital pathways.

Push Digital Ordering Beyond the Table

Start with digital ordering. Digital orders lift average order volumes by over 20% - simply put, they sell better than humans. Then, they improve order accuracy, increase menu visibility, and enable easy enrollment into loyalty and customer programs. 

Don’t just look at digital ordering as table ordering via a QR code. There are over 10 other ordering modes that you can tap to drive more revenue - look at catering, order ahead, skip the queue, and more. Digital ordering can start anywhere—check-out kiosks as another option.

All these offerings allow customers to place orders, reorder items or make payments without waiting in line or for your staff.

Make it Easier for Your Team

Then, think about simple additions to your current POS and back-office environment.

A mobile POS system (or several), like Abacus Go, can be a great addition to help your staff deal with the holiday season influx. Abacus Go provides a portable handheld POS with fully integrated payments - you can even turn any existing Android phone into a handheld POS system that can be used to take orders, accept payments and print receipts with ease. It can be up and running in minutes, with the capability to manage the menu for multiple mobile POS systems through a master POS. 

In the back of the house look to Abacus Kitchen Display System (KDS), to make it easier to to stay on top of orders. The KDS allows you to see order summaries, and status, with real-time notifications for when orders are placed. It also can accommodate complex workflows, with station-specific display options and granular ingredient-specific views. 

You see how Liven can act as your staff’s personal assistant, or even as an additional member helping in taking orders and payments!

Tip #2: Cater to Holiday Wishes

Catering is one of the fastest ways to increase revenue. Think about adjusting the way you promote catering to focus on family dinners, parties, and seasonal events. 

OrderUp catering is the place to start - it’s built to make your holiday season seamless and profitable. From building tailored catering menus to managing large orders, OrderUp simplifies the entire process:

• Customizable Catering Menus: Highlight group-dining options or special holiday bundles easily

• Order Windows: Set specific ordering cutoffs to help you manage capacity and ensure unhindered operations

• Integrated Delivery Logistics: Coordinate catering deliveries with direct integrations, ensuring accuracy and timeliness

Customers can browse your catering options using a custom QR code or your branded Magic App. With a streamlined process for placing orders and completing payments, you’re not just offering convenience—you’re creating loyalty. In fact, with Liven Loyalty, every catering purchase rewards your customers, driving repeat business and building connections that last way beyond the holiday season.

Tip #3: Make More on Every Delivery

Why rely on expensive third-party delivery platforms when you can take control of the experience with Liven’s Direct Delivery Integrations? Here are some of the benefits:

• Lower Costs: Eliminate hefty commissions from marketplaces like Uber Eats or DoorDash. By connecting you directly with on-demand drivers at flat rates, Liven lets you have your pie and eat it, too!

• No middlemen: Eliminate unnecessary middleware and intermediaries

Tip #4  ‘Tis The Season to Promote Visits (and Repeat Visits)

If you’re keen to give your customers a whiff of your holiday season menu, we have some great tools in the form of Liven Engage, and the Magic App.

Reduce manual efforts while boosting sales by using Liven Engage to:

• Segment customers based on past behavior and send personalized messages with holiday-themed offers​

• Automate outreach with tailored campaigns for gift cards, discounts, or special holiday menus​​

Liven’s Magic App helps you curate a holiday-themed experience for your customers, without forcing them to download an app. With your Magic App you can:

• Capture their holiday mood or preferences through quizzes, surveys or forms

• Curate & highlight customer-specific offers and discounts based on their preferences, interactions or order history

Tip #5 Limit Seasonal ‘COGS’ Impact

The holiday season can drive up COGS, so smart supply chain management is key. With the Abacus and Zeemart integration, you can:

1. Reduce waste: The integration between FOH sales data and BOH stock management, means you get real-time updates on inventory levels. So you can reduce waste by aligning stock purchases with actual demand

2. Optimise menu profitability: Use data from the integration to identify high-margin menu items. Promote these dishes while ensuring the required ingredients are always in stock

3. Control Costs at scale: Access real-time COGS and insights from the Theoretical COGS report available on Zeemart to adjust purchasing strategies and improve margins

This integration equips you to manage costs, ensure menu availability, and maximize profits during the holiday rush.

Tip #6 Gifting is On the Digital Cards

Australians will be looking for a last-minute gift for their loved ones - your digital gift cards are the solution and simply and easily powered by Liven Gifting.

Liven Gifting allows you to set-up a custom gift card program in minutes. You can also promote these gift cards through all your digital channels, including email, Magic App, Kiosks and Customer Facing Displays.

As easy as they are to promote and purchase, they’re just as easy to redeem:

• Through digital ordering channels and wallets

• With options for never-ending validity

Tip #7 Winning Them Over with Rewards

The  secret sauce for turning customers into superfans is through Rewards and incentives. Liven Loyalty is the only loyalty platform proven to do more, with rewards, gifting, loyalty programs, brand currency and more. 

Liven’s programs have driven up to 80% increase in AOV, 8x increase in customer spend and turn up to 65% users into superfans.

What makes Liven Loyalty work?

• Rewarding every purchase- whether it is an in-venue or online order, catering order or even gift cards, made through any payment method

• Custom-tiered rewards and discounts- to incentivise customers to spend more

• Integration with CRM & POS- to personalise and automate your rewards engagement engine

• App-less signups & redemption- to remove any customer friction to joining or using rewards  

That’s 7 tips from the best operators to help get your mise en place in place for this holiday season. 

Want to serve up a memorable holiday dining experience? Speak to your Liven account manager, or contact us if you’re not using Liven yet!