WASHINGTON – New research from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) found that more than a third of consumers say they are more likely to use technology-related options in restaurants now than two years ago. A significant number of those consumers use their smartphones to interact with restaurants on a regular basis, such as ordering delivery, redeeming rewards and paying for meals.

“While overall usage of restaurant technology options is still more common among diners in the Millennial generation compared with Baby Boomers, the age gap generally levels out when it comes to frequent users,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the NRA, in a press release. “As restaurants integrate more customer-facing technology, usage among consumers is growing. When done right, it can help a restaurant’s productivity and the customer experience.”

In their survey, the NRA also asked the consumers who said they are not using technology options more often why not: Half said they simply they prefer dealing with human beings. This is particularly notable among younger consumers, where 61% of 18- to 34-year-olds gave this as a reason, while only 42% of those age 65 and older agreed.

Further, the survey showed that a majority of smartphone owners say they use their devices for several dining-related tasks at least a few times per year, such as to looking up basic information (location and hours of operation, for example), viewing menus, reading online reviews, using rewards and special deals, and ordering takeout or delivery on store-branded apps. Half also say they look up nutrition information on their devices several times per year, and one-quarter use their phones to pay for meals at that frequency.