Delivery services have always been on consumer radars. The convenience of having your lunch or dry cleaning delivered with a short phone call or click of a button never gets old.
What’s new in the way we are ordering? The emergence of delivery apps.
There are now numerous apps at the palm of your hand ready to be downloaded. Services like Instacart, GrubHub, and Delivery.com are not necessarily new to the delivery game but with their rising popularity, deals with big name brands are trending up in 2016.
Foursquare adds Delivery.com integration for ordering food and booze. Users can now search nearby places for a “delivery icon” next to participating stores and restaurants. Simply click and you have your dinner delivered from your favorite spot. Last week, Whole Foods announced they are making an investment in Instacart. The two have been partners since 2014, but now their relationship is blossoming into a five-year deal. Instacart will be the exclusive delivery service for the worldwide chain. Just before the New Year, GrubHub acquired Delivered Dish. This is huge for GrubHub to keep expanding their markets across the U.S.
The shift from in-store consumption towards mobile is apparent across all industries. Restaurants especially are feeling the pressure to expand their delivery options due to the ever-tech savvy millennial. The biggest downside to the convenience of partnering with a food delivery service is the loss of profit on everything being delivered. GrubHub for example takes a 13.5% cut of their average delivery order. In the long-term is convenience worth it?
Big names like Uber and Amazon think so. In March, Uber will be launching “UberEats” and Amazon is not far behind with the launch of “AmazonFresh.”
What else is causing a buzz in the food delivery world? Services such as Blue Apron, PeachDish, and Plated. They combine delivery and home cooking with ingredients and recipes. Once again the convenience factor has the meal delivery service trend skyrocketing.
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