The restaurant industry’s digital divide: a 7shifts report
The 7shifts report found that 65% of restaurants introduced a new tool in the previous year, while 49% of operators described their systems as connected.
Photograph: Unsplash
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7shifts, a scheduling and payroll platform, released “The State of Restaurant Tech 2025” on September 10. The report describes the restaurant industry’s digital divide: some establishments run integrated systems, while others still use outdated tools and manual processes. Its findings are compiled in a new guide, the “Digital Prep List.”
The study surveyed over 500 professionals. It found that 65% of restaurants had introduced a new tool in the previous year, while 49% of operators described their systems as connected.
Many restaurants still perform some tasks manually: 47% use paper for scheduling, half count inventory by hand, and 57% rely on group texts to communicate with staff. According to the report, only one in seven restaurants has reached the most advanced stage of restaurant tech adoption, where data on costs and compliance is available in real time.
The survey also found that 44% of operators miss their labor cost targets, and over half cite food inflation as their main challenge. Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7shifts, says that the divide directly affects the bottom line. He calls the right technology “a necessity,” not a luxury.
Operators with fragmented systems struggle with profitability and efficiency. Their counterparts with more integrated systems report measurable gains in labor management, payroll automation, and staff experience.
The “Digital Prep List” guide from 7shifts is designed to help operators identify their current stage of technology adoption and choose steps to close these gaps and improve their operations.
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