Starfleet Report: 18% Forecasting Confidence & 63% Upsell Growth

Starfleet Research released “The Restaurant Optimization Playbook” on January 23, revealing a crisis of confidence in the industry: only 18% of restaurant operators feel “very confident” in their ability to forecast daily sales or labor needs. The study, based on data from over 350 global operators, argues that the new competitive edge lies in “turning data into answers faster” rather than simply collecting more of it.

The report provides concrete evidence that mobile technology solves these efficiency gaps. 82% of operators using handheld POS devices reported faster service speeds, and 63% saw an increase in average check size thanks to automated upsell prompts. Self-service kiosks showed similar results, with 67% of users reporting higher ticket sizes and 76% citing reduced wait times. Furthermore, 78% of managers now rate “proactive alerts”—notifications about food costs or labor spikes—as critical, preferring them over static dashboards. 64% explicitly want an AI assistant to answer operational questions in natural language.

Why it matters: The low confidence stat proves that relying on manager intuition is no longer viable. The data confirms that automated interfaces (self service kiosks, handhelds) consistently outperform human staff in upselling and speed. This validates the move toward integrated digital ecosystems. Operators need systems that automatically flag margin issues and prompt customers to buy more, rather than waiting for a manager to notice a problem in a weekly report.