The impact of cloud restaurant on customer satisfaction: An analytical survey of restaurant owners' perspectives in Karbala province

Abstract

With the noticeable increase in the number of cloud kitchens, which are business models that do not offer on-site dining services but rely on preparing meals in central kitchens and delivering them directly to customers online, there is a need to understand how to achieve customer satisfaction and delight. The achievement of these kitchens is contingent on their ability to provide high-quality service, convenience, and perceived value, thereby achieving customer delight. The research adopted a descriptive-analytical approach, using a questionnaire to collect data from a representative sample of 65 restaurant owners in the holy city of Karbala. The findings indicate that cloud kitchens are an emerging trend and a recent phenomenon accepted worldwide. Compared to traditional restaurants and fast-food outlets, their emergence is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced offline restaurants to adapt. The study proved a meaningful correlation between cloud restaurants and their various dimensions in achieving customer delight. The analysis showed that cloud kitchens adopt advanced technologies to provide services, most notably receiving customer orders through online applications or mobile phones, with a relative importance of 73%. The smart menu was the least important dimension, with a relative importance of 68%, despite being the link between cloud kitchens and the customer, as it enables the customer to view the food items on offer and the cooking methods directly through this technology.