The news: Twenty-seven percent of operators said that inflation is one of their top challenges for 2026, a 7 percentage point YoY rise, per Toast’s 2026 Voice of the Restaurant industry Survey.

Hiring ranked second at 22%, and increasing guest foot traffic and managing finances tied for third at 15%.

Those fears are influencing their business strategies:

• 39% of operators surveyed plan to tightly manage or run leaner inventory, up 12 points YoY, per Toast.
• 47% of owners want to increase diner demand to boost revenues.
• And 26% want to expand into new areas like catering or online ordering.

Why this matters: Inventory, ordering, and payments often live across multiple platforms and multiple vendors. On average, small businesses use 2.2 systems to manage their daily operations, per a PYMNTS Intelligence survey. 

Vendor fragmentation is most severe for the smallest providers: 2 in 3 SMBs generating less than $150,000 report they use different systems to solve for different needs. They have to toggle between different platforms and providers to manage inventory and revenue goals.

Implications for POS providers: POS hardware and software providers have long leaned into verticalization to win over restaurants, but with such a crowded field of competitors, they need to go further.  

• Payment providers should prioritize highly tailored features for specialty business products.
• POS software solutions should be customizable and nimble enough to respond to merchants’ needs as their markets evolve.
• And dashboard solutions should give owners a clear view of their entire business with embedded AI offerings to streamline operations.

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