White Castle Adds In-App Delivery w/ Uber Direct
Walmart wants employees delivering, UPS fights porch pirates, rapid delivery statistics
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Today:
White Castle Adds Uber Direct for In-App Delivery
Walmart Wants Employees Making Deliveries
Chart Time | Consumers Demand Rapid Delivery
UPS vs Porch Pirates
APPS | White Castle Adds Uber Direct for In-App Delivery
White Castle’s footprint (350 units) might not be as expansive as McDonald’s or Burger King’s, but in the Northeast their sliders are just as famous as any ol’ Big Mac or Whopper. Now the company is making its iOS and Android apps just as good as the big guys’, as it adds a delivery option, powered by Uber Direct. Delivery is good for a five mile radius around each location and will run a flat $4.99 per order (better get a few of those “Cheesy 10 Sacks” to make it worth it!)
The Big Picture: Previously, White Castle’s app only allowed for ordering ahead for in-store pickup, as well as contactless payment for folks already in-restaurant. This function lets them push back against the marketplaces, retaining a bit more of the customer relationship / data, while improving margins. It also marks a feather in the cap for Uber Direct, which in the past week launched partnerships with both Oracle and Deliverect.
1PD | It’s Take Two for Walmart’s Employee-Powered Delivery
Walmart revealed its hoping to have more employees handle last mile deliveries for the retail giant; currently most of its volume is handled by independent contractors on Spark Driver, or is off-boarded to third parties like Uber or DoorDash (although that latter partnership was recently terminated.) As part of the push, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon also said the company will need to “own more vehicles.”
The Big Picture: It’s deja vu all over again for the Bentonville big boxer, as the company made a similar push in 2017. Back then the company let employees opt in to handling deliveries near stores, starting with locations in New Jersey and Arkansas. The program quickly ran into headwinds, as employees were wary of using their own vehicles for corporate purposes, and there were unresolved issues around driver insurance and liability (classic!) That earlier attempt was run by ecommerce super star Marc Lore, who previously started Diapers.com and Jet.com and now runs food-tech darling Wonder.
CHART TIME | Rapid Delivery Drives Positive Consumer Sentiment
Uber and Edelman have teamed up to collect some new consumer data on the prevalence and preferences on rapid delivery. Beyond putting some numbers behind how often folks are getting various categories delivered (looks like Gen Z buys a lot of shoes) there are some great stats on how a seamless delivery experience can build brand value. 72% of consumers are more likely to continue ordering from companies that offer express delivery. 94% say a positive delivery experience makes them more likely to order from the retailer again. 75% expect express delivery as an option. 81% like the product more after a positive delivery experience. 69% would choose a company that offers express delivery over one that does not. Sounds like you better get to work!
LOGISTICS | UPS Turns to AI to Fight Porch Pirates
UPS is widening its roll out of DeliveryDefense, an AI-powered tool that UPS’ corporate customers can have API-level access to. While large businesses have been paying at least $3,000 a month for the service, smaller companies will soon be able to subscribe for just $99. The program creates a risk score for any address, pulling from billions of previous delivery data points, attempting to calculate how likely a package is to be nabbed from a porch.
The Big Picture: 79% of Americans were supposedly the victims of porch piracy last year; although that data may be biased by vendors attempting to push more “safety” products. Similarly, UPS needs to be careful about potential biases that may subtly influence its machine learning. Like any AI, this needs to be used responsibly to ensure it doesn’t essentially launder and perpetuate long standing prejudices about a given neighborhood. Left unspecified is what UPS does to deliveries in locales it deems “risky” - is it going to force a signature on receipt, or will it one day charge more for the transaction?
A Few Good Links
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