This is Amazon's newest food deal
In less than a month as the official owner of Whole Foods Market, e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is already making another food deal.
The company announced Friday that it has a new partnership with New York-based startup Olo to help streamline food ordering as the retailer continues to build its Amazon Restaurants brand, an exclusive food delivery platform for its Prime members.
Olo is one of the leading digital food ordering services used by over 180 national brands like Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK), Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN), Red Robin (NASDAQ:RRGB), Chili’s (NYSE:EAT), and Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) and is already used by over 60 million active consumers nationwide. The new partnership will now enable all those brands to seamlessly integrate with Amazon’s delivery platform.
“This integration will enable Amazon Restaurants to onboard new restaurants with ease, as well as quickly add more new choices and delivery options for customers,” said Gus Lopez, general manager of Amazon Restaurants.
Olo CEO Noah Glass told FOX Business that the move was inevitable because 62% of food transactions are now consumed off-premises, whether ordered on location as take-out or drive-thru or ordered ahead for pick-up or delivery.
“Consumers want and expect convenience. They want their meal how they want it, when they want it, without having to wait in line. Additionally, they are spending more digitally, anywhere from 20-70% more depending on the brand, than they do when placing orders in person or over the phone,” he says.
“It really creates a win for both the restaurant operator and the consumer. Restaurants will now have seamless access to new consumers who may not have previously visited their location, website or app,” Glass adds.
In the past year, many restaurant chains like Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s, Bonefish Grill and Pollo Tropical have announced plans to shutter some locations due to lagging sales numbers. In August, DineEquity Inc (NYSE:DIN), the parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP, announced it will close 105 to 135 Applebee’s restaurants, while also declaring that 20 to 25 IHOP locations are at risk of closure.
Yesterday, restaurant chain TGI Friday’s announced plans to better streamline its food ordering app by offering alcohol. The company said since launching the delivery app, take-out sales have grown by 30%.
