Today in Restaurant and Grocery Tech: Deliveroo Moves Toward Rapid Fulfillment; Yelp Launches All-in-One Front-of-House Solution

Deliveroo

Today in restaurant and grocery tech news, Deliveroo partners with major U.K. grocery chain Morrisons to develop an ultra-fast grocery delivery service, while back in the United States, Giant announced its own rapid delivery option. Plus, Jane McPherson, senior vice president of marketing at Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, speaks with PYMNTS about how data analytics and cross-channel outreach are helping the chain personalize its customer offerings.

A Serving of Data Analytics Helps Personalize Rewards, Drive Redemption at Capriotti’s 

In the September/October edition of the Order to Eat Tracker®, PYMNTS explores how quick-service restaurants (QSRs) continue to drive customer engagement with innovative and enticing loyalty incentives and how a personalized, digital-first approach that caters to customers’ individual needs is key to QSRs’ continued success in the future.

Deliveroo Hop Offers Fast Grocery Delivery in London

Deliveroo has begun working on fast grocery deliveries, the Financial Times reported. The company has opened a “dark store” in London in partnership with supermarket chain Morrisons, according to the report. The service is called Deliveroo Hop and will compete with several other grocery delivery startups like Gorillas, Getir and Zapp, which have become popular in the U.K., the report stated.

With ‘Guest Manager,’ Yelp Joins Tech Providers Aiming to Be Restaurants’ One-Stop Shop

With the digital proliferation of the past couple of years, restaurants are growing frustrated with the tangle of incompatible software solutions aiming to make the process of running an eatery easier, leaving an opportunity for providers who can offer a way to unify these disparate processes. Noting this opportunity, Yelp announced Wednesday (Sept. 29) that it is launching Yelp Guest Manager, which consolidates front-of-house tools into a single product.

Uber Eats Leverages Halloween to Launch In-App Specialty Stores

In a move to capture a piece of holiday-themed merchandise sales — and more “last-mile logistics” market share in the process — Uber announced on Thursday (Sept. 30) that it’s launching the first Holiday Shop on the Uber Eats platform.

Grocery Roundup: Giant Launches 30-Minute Delivery; Schnucks Loses Sales Opportunities

This week in grocery, The Giant Company partnered with Instacart for rapid delivery; Beyond Meat followed Impossible Foods’ lead with the launch of plant-based chicken tenders in grocery stores; Schnucks closed stores in response to the grocery labor shortage; and Albertsons invested in its wine value prop.

As McRib Returns, McDonald’s Must Balance Modern Digital Demand vs Nostalgic Appeal

At a time when many restaurants are taking advantage of limited-time exclusives and much-hyped menu items to drive consumers to their digital channels, McDonald’s is taking a more omnichannel approach. With the highly anticipated return of the McRib sandwich, the company is making a play for both younger, tech-savvy consumers and for older digital holdouts.