Toyota, SoftBank and auto supplier Denso announced a $1 billion investment in Uber’s Advanced Technology Group to accelerate development and commercialization of the tech giant’s automated ridesharing services. Under the terms of the agreement, Toyota and DENSO will jointly invest $667 million and SVF will invest $333 million, valuing the new Uber ATG entity at $7.25 billion. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the development of this automated driving technology “will transform transportation as we know it, making our streets safer and our cities more livable.” He added that the company’s […]
According to a new report from customer experience and brand research firm Service Management Group (SMG), awareness of delivery is growing while fast-food restaurants in particular are increasing delivery at three to five times faster than the fast-casual and casual-dining segments. Using SMG’s SurveyMini consumer research app that tracks behavioral data linked to real-time customer feedback, its report includes more than 20,000 respondents’ answers to what it calls “three big questions about the evolution of third-party delivery.” Findings showed that third-party delivery awareness, usage and frequency have increased across the […]
Albertsons has reportedly laid off 10 percent of the staff at Plated, a national meal kit service the West Coast grocery giant purchased in 2017. According to the report, the layoffs impacted 25 of Plated’s employees. In a statement, Albertsons spokeswoman, Christine Wilcox, said the move was intended “to reduce expenses and better utilize the larger company’s operations structure.” After acquiring Plated, Albertsons began placing Plated meals in some of its stores. Based in Boise, Idaho, Albertsons has more than 2,300 food and drug stores in 35 states, including the […]
Bite Squad, which was founded in Minneapolis and acquired by Louisiana-based Waitr, has added breakfast service for individual and small group orders in its home market. Breakfast will be delivered every day starting at 8 a.m. The expanding morning delivery services, launched on Tuesday, April 16, and it’s the second Bite Squad market in the country to offer this new option. “We see breakfast delivery as a considerable growth opportunity,” said Liz Sniegocki, a Bite Squad spokeswoman. “Following a successful beta in Gainesville earlier this month, we’re planning a phase […]
Fresh off a healthy haul of $100 million in investor cash last fall and continued European expansion after acquiring GoCater, ezCater just landed another $150 million in fun money and acquired the Monkey Group, a Canadian software and training provider that’s the developer of Monkey, a cloud-based platform for takeout, delivery and catering. With a snazzy $1.25 billion valuation making waves, the Boston-based catering providers growth options have widened. After characterizing the company’s bank account as “quite lovely” last fall, ezCater Founder Stefania Mallett said in a phone interview that […]
Postmates revealed one of its largest restaurant partnerships to date with a newly announced tie-up with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen to offer third-party delivery at more than 2,000 of the chicken chain’s locations across the U.S. To juice initial orders, Postmates is waiving delivery fees on orders with a promo code. Popeyes and Postmates have worked together for several years. Together, they have already completed “hundreds of thousands” of deliveries, and the new agreement is intended to increase volume at participating locations. Postmates offers delivery from more than 500,000 restaurants, grocery […]
The Uber IPO documents are finally here, and the much anticipated tech giant’s emergence into the public sphere shows just how competitive the delivery industry is for the third-party delivery firms —and for restaurants and retailers. Ahead of the ride-sharing and logistics giant’s likely May IPO, Uber opened up the books and showed how much potential exists and how competitive delivery really is. Outlining the industry for Uber Eats in a pre-IPO filing called an S-1, Uber pegged the overall off-premises addressable market (including home delivery, takeaway and drive-thru worldwide) […]
Not a company to focus purely on something as minor as an IPO, Uber is rolling out a voucher program while the company prepares to go public. The voucher program (demonstrated to the right) plays on the core ridesharing in a novel way by allowing businesses to offer ride vouchers to customers. The service falls under Uber for business umbrella and has been in beta since late 2018. So far, there are a handful of big businesses and entertainment outlets using the vouchers, including Live Nation, MGM Resorts, and TGI […]
Much is made of the perceived leverage third-party services have over the restaurants whose food they deliver, but in reality, “Operators have the real leverage because the third-party apps need you as much as you need them.” That was the conclusion from Eli Portnoy, founder and CEO of data insight firm Sense360, after he analyzed survey responses from 5,000 consumers, along with transaction data, to learn how they think about and use convenience-oriented services. “At the end of the day, fees are the No. 1 consideration” for customers, followed closely […]
For anyone tired of success stories and positivity comes the other shoe dropping—the troublesome experience in delivery by Gino’s East Pizza of Chicago and Hell’s Kitchen in Minneapolis, both iconic restaurants in their respective cities. Cynthia Gerdes is CEO of Hell’s Kitchen with its 35-foot-long bloody Mary bar and sales topping $7 million. “Our costs also expanded,” she noted at the Food On Demand Conference, including $152K in payroll every two weeks and rising rent. “I got the brilliant idea and we turned to delivery for additional revenue.” By the […]
