Domino's Bellwether Q2, Apple's New Delivery Option
How to fight ebike fires, what virtual diners really want
It’s a new week, and things are already cookin’! Domino’s announced Q2 results, and thinks new initiatives (including its Uber Eats partnership) will grease the wheels for future growth. We’ve also got some interesting news out of a famous fruit company, some developments in the world of delivery bikes, and consumer feedback on ghost kitchens.
Today:
Domino’s Hopeful Q2 Results
Apple Stores to Offer Home Delivery
Chart Time | What Do Ghost Kitchen Customers Really Want?
Fighting eBike Fires
1PD | Domino’s Q2 Looks to New Features to Restore Growth
Delivery stalwart Domino’s released its Q2 financial results this morning, and while the numbers aren’t amazing, the company is focused on longer term improvements. Same store sales in the U.S. crept up 0.1% year over year, an improvement over its decrease in Q2 of last year. That mild improvement was fully driven by carryout, up 5.6%, while delivery sunk 3.5% YoY.
The Big Picture: Discussing the results and what comes next, CEO Russell Weiner pointed out the potential of a number of recently announced initiatives. Pinpoint Delivery means improved accuracy and the ability to drive transactions to new locales like parks and beaches. A soon to launch revamp of the company’s rewards program will lower the points threshold for pickup customers, driving more volume to that higher profitability segment (although that may weigh on margins a tad.) And the company is still particularly optimistic about the potential of its tie-up with Uber Eats. Domino’s thinks it can get up to $1 billion of incremental business from marketing on the aggregator, which would be an impressive slice of the overall $5 billion in pizza business done on 3PDs.
WEBINAR | Tune in Thursday to Discuss Sustainability in Delivery
Join us on Thursday at 11 PT / 2 ET for an important discussion on the ways public and private organizations are working together to improve sustainability across the worlds of delivery and mobility. We’ll hear from top minds at Uber Eats, Perch Mobility, WXY Architecture + Urban Design, and San Francisco’s Environment Department. Register now.
RETAIL | Apple Revamps Home Delivery
Sure, you’ve long been able to a granny smith delivered from a grocer near you, but what if you’re hungry for an iPad instead? Apple is rolling out EasyPay Online Ordering, as it looks to enable its in-store associates push ship-to-home on customers for select items. Notably this means that stores can still book sales for items that are locally out of stock, and shoppers don’t have to worry about walking out with unwieldy items like 32” monitor.
The Big Picture: The electronics company has quietly been working to revamp some of its older and smaller locations, and in some locations already relies on remote stock rooms. This initiative means smaller stores can “offer” a full line of products, even if it doesn’t all fit in the backroom. Notably, this change doesn’t entail any of the larger stores serving as shipping hubs for customers looking for rapid delivery.
CHART TIME | Ghost Kitchen Customers Hungry for Convenience
It’s been a tough few weeks for ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants, but some new data might give operators a case for optimism. PYMNTS recently surveyed customers about what they want out of virtual dining, and one answer was a resounding winner: “faster, easier and more convenient.” At the same time “higher quality or healthier food” was the second to last result. Given that most of the marquee brands have put covering the map ahead of pleasing the tastebuds, this means that strategy could be resonating with diners (or maybe customers are so jaded they can’t imagine any other outcome…)
POLICY | New Solutions for Fighting eBike Fires
As ebikes take off as a popular solution to delivering in dense cities, concerns have mounted about fires started by these bikes’ lithium ion batteries. This is particularly problematic in places like Manhattan, where the bikes are often charged indoors or bike shops loaded with batteries. Innovators are looking to solve the problem a few different ways: Zen Electronics and ZapBatt are pushing the use of stronger, more efficient batteries, as fewer cells means fewer opportunities for failure. Popwheels instead proposes delivery-oriented battery swapping, offering safer batteries compatible with existing bikes.
The Big Picture: This one’s going to be tough to solve with the private-sector alone. Cash strapped delivery drivers will usually choose the most affordable option, even if that means a less reliable battery or charger. And when you have a location charging hundreds of batteries, you get higher odds of someone jamming the wrong generic “barrel connector” into an old battery and overloading it. Even vaunted initiatives like JOCO and Grubhub’s charging hubs have gotten in trouble for hosting unauthorized batteries. Things won’t improve much until manufacturers are forced to adopt a common standard, including a smart plug that can do power management.
A Few Good Links
Delivery Hero wins lawsuit against Mastercard UK. Just Eat Takeaway’s Lieferando partners with Lush to delivery cosmetics in Germany. What will CA’s Fast Act mean for restaurant wages? Vegetarian fast food chain Amy’s Drive Thru slowly expands. Chick-fil-A opens delivery and drive-thru only location in Hawaii. Rand McNally rolls out new version of MileMaker routing software. Teamsters call off Yellow strike.
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