Google Neuters Restaurant Ordering
Google Neuters Restaurant Ordering
Gopuff + Starbucks, CloudKitchens' NYC food hall, gig worker preferences
We’re finishing the week off with some big news from Google, GoPuff and CloudKitchens, plus some interesting gig worker stats. See ya Monday…
Today’s edition is brought to you by Curbivore — prices jump tonight!
Today:
Google Kills Off Restaurant Ordering
Gopuff Launches Late Night, In-House Starbucks
Chart Time | Gig Workers Prefer Delivery
CloudKitchens Rains Down New Food Hall
ORDERING | Alphabet Nixes Order with Google
Google is shaking up its ordering tools, as it will kill off the ability to directly order from restaurants on its search and map results. The tech giant will retool Order with Google to instead redirect shoppers to 3PDs or a restaurant’s first party platform, effective late June. Since its 2018 launch, the service has been noteworthy for being fee free and for passing loads of order and customer data directly to the restaurant.
The Big Picture: Given how many ordering options sometime jockey for position on a single restaurant’s listing (see for example a popular LA sandwich spot, above,) this could turn into an interesting revenue driver for Google, if it decides to get aggressive about bidding up the price to appear first, as is the case with its bread and butter search ads. The company is doing a larger rethink of how discovery works on Google Maps, as it leans more into AI-powered guides. Perhaps a new AI-friendly SEO arms race is about to begin…
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PARTNERSHIPS | GoPuff Launches In-House Starbucks
Quick commerce contender Gopuff is brewing up a new idea; it will soon have Starbucks-trained baristas operating inside its microfulfillment centers. That way caffeine-craving customers can get their Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Oleatos delivered in 30 minutes or less, with the special service available between 5 P.M. and 5 A.M.
The Big Picture: Philly-based Gopuff first trialed this concept in its hometown last October; at the time it noted that Starbucks’ ready-to-drink products were consistently some of its most popular SKUs. SBUX highlighted the program’s expansion in its earnings call this week, where it also called out growing volume on DoorDash. The coffee king noted that last quarter U.S. comparable sales were up 5%, while international jumped 7%.
CHART TIME | Gig Workers Prefer Delivery
Gridwise just released its Gig Mobility Report, looking at worker preferences in the gig economy. Overall, contractors look to vastly prefer restaurant delivery, followed by grocery delivery; evidently rideshare’s not so hot these days. There are other interesting trends to note: grocery delivery is much more popular with women, whereas rideshare skews very male, likely due to safety issues (gosh, dudes are such creeps.) 62% of gig workers note they chose the field due to its flexible hours, with another 55% liking the supplemental income; only 29% say they prefer gig work over traditional employment.
GHOST KITCHENS | CloudKitchens Opening NYC Food Hall
TK-helmed CloudKitchens is coming down from the heavens, gracing New Yorkers with a location that will feature on-premises dining. Dubbed Backstage Food Hall, as it’s in the heart of the Theater District (46th and 8th,) the three story, 21 stall location has room for ~230 patrons looking for something to nosh on after watching The Lion King (or getting accosted by Times Square Elmo.) HNGRY notes that CloudKitchens acquired the location from LAZ Parking for $10 million in 2018.
The Big Picture: CloudKitchens highlights that the location has 426,000 residents, and a whopping 1.3 million workers, within 15 minutes. Compare that to the company’s recently opened Alton Food Hall (named for the road, not the chef) in Miami Beach, which only has 41k residents and 38k workers nearby. CK’s push into food halls coincides with a similar expansion at Nimbus Kitchens, with the latter’s growth being built off of Kitchen United’s retreat from the concept.
A Few Good Links
DoorDash adds $1.99 fee in response to NYC delivery minimum wage. Gopuff releases 2023 instant commerce trends report, notes that water is its top product (anyone know a way to get water delivered any faster? Some sort of special delivery pipe?) Resto employment slips in Jan. Walmart hires Kodiak Robotics COO.
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