A type of "internet+" free offline restaurants have quietly emerged in Luoyang, which look just like other restaurants and offer general western-style fast food. With a closer look, however, customers will notice the goods put in the corner. QR code of different online shops is printed on the table, and posters of travel agencies and vehicle insurance companies are put up on the wall, which are the reasons why people can have "free meals" in this restaurant.
According to Guo Pengyu, person in charge of the restaurant, simply speaking, customers could buy goods and car insurance in this restaurant or online, and then they can get coupon of equivalent value. With these coupons, customers can get meals for free. Actually it is a two-way exchange, either getting free meals by buying goods or getting free goods by paying for the meal.
Nowadays traditional shops and merchants in China are trying to achieve transformation and updating. For the catering industry, the most common way is to combine online group purchase and food-delivery service with the operation of physical stores. Thus restaurants are able to cover "online and offline" businesses.
Different from the previous "Online to Offline" model, the operating pattern of "internet +" free offline restaurants pays more attention to online interaction, which makes possible the appearance of a new "online + offline" pattern.
