The importance of quality outdoor café furniture for your business

Outdoor eating was already on the rise long before the pandemic, and the desire to relax in comfortable outdoor spaces has accelerated further over the past 12-18 months. Investing in high quality outdoor furniture can offer an immediate boost for your business, helping to boost revenue, customer satisfaction and perceptions of your brand.

You’ll quickly notice there are a lot of furniture options out there, but narrowing them down to find the right choice for your café, coffee house or restaurant can prove tricky. Here we give you some tips on what to look out for and the importance of high-quality outdoor café furniture for your business.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Outdoor Cafe Furniture

When buying outdoor café furniture, you should take the following into consideration:

Material options and weather resistance

The material used to manufacture your outdoor café furniture will play an important role in how long it will last and the experience it offers to your customers. The furniture will be exposed to a mixture of UV rays, wind, ice and rain throughout the year, so it needs to offer durability and long-lasting, while also ensuring comfort and practicality. Powder-coated aluminium furniture offers good protection, as does treated wood and polypropylene, which all come at different price points.

Aesthetics and design

The design of your outdoor café furniture doesn’t have to exactly match your indoor furniture set. An outdoor eating area should offer a different feeling to dining indoors, so this gives you the chance to be a little more creative and expand on your branding and customer appeal. Try not to stray too far from your existing colours and make sure the outdoor furniture complements the overall style and tone of your offering, otherwise you run the risk of confusing your clientele.

Functionality and space utilisation

When shopping around for outdoor café chairs and tables, take some time to think about how functional they are and how they can adapt to your needs. For example, outdoor stacking chairs can prove very useful at the end of the day, allowing you to bring the chairs inside and away from colder weather overnight. Space utilisation also matters in terms of how much furniture you can use in your outdoor space and the weight of the furniture, giving you the option to change the seating arrangement without too much hassle.

Ergonomics and comfort

Good quality furniture should ensure comfort and customer satisfaction in terms of seating. Before any food or drink is served, your first aim should be to ensure your customers are happy with their seating and settled in, as they are far less likely to spend if they do not feel at ease. Look for chairs with good back support (outdoor bistro chairs often work well) with an ergonomic shape to help the back. Cushioning and extra padding is an option, although be mindful that this will require additional maintenance over time to retain the condition.

What Are the Benefits of Quality Outdoor Cafe Furniture?

When you invest in outdoor café furniture your business can benefit from:

• Increased customer satisfaction and repeat business
  Adding outdoor café tables and chairs to your setup offers another sustainable source of revenue with more covers available each day. Customers love outdoor eating and with more options available on whether to eat indoors or outdoors, you stand a better chance of building repeat business.
• Improved ROI and longevity of furniture
  Investing in outdoor café furniture is a great way to ensure a return on your investment and you can quickly identify where and how the revenue is being generated. This is supported further by the longevity of commercial outdoor furniture that offers long-term weather resistance so it can withstand general wear and tear and exposure to the elements.
• Enhanced outdoor dining trends and ambiance
  Your outdoors eating space can be a natural extension of your internal area, while also creating a fresh and exciting new ambiance. Al fresco dining is a key trend to tap into and one that is achievable with a sensible investment. Customers also want to see outdoor seating options continue to grow and year-round outdoor dining is quickly becoming the norm.
• Environmentally friendly options
  Sustainability is key in today’s business world and that also extends to outdoor furniture for cafés. Environmentally friendly options such as wood (sourced from sustainable forests) and polypropylene, can be recycled when you need to replace or upgrade to new furniture. So, if this is a key criteria for your furniture, weigh up the pros and cons of the material used to manufacture it.

You may want to consider investing in outdoor contract furniture, which gives you more flexibility in terms of keeping up with current design trends, which can make all the difference, especially if your café or coffee house is based in or close to a city centre. Investing in contract furniture allows you to spread the cost of hiring furniture, which offers immediate cash flow benefits compared to paying for an entire range upfront.

Final thoughts

If you can factor in the main suggestions above when buying outdoor café furniture, then you can strengthen your business and enjoy the benefits it can offer. Once you have established an outdoor eating area you can attract more customers and increase your covers every day, which generates more revenue and possibilities for your business. Look for outdoor furniture that can adapt to your business needs while also supporting customer requirements and it should prove to be one of the best long-term investments you make, with an almost-guaranteed ROI factored in.