Shake Shack Launches Nationwide In-App Delivery Via Uber Eats

Shack Shack’s push into the digital realm continued Wednesday (March 17) with the chain’s announcement that it would launch its own nationwide in-app delivery service through Uber Eats.

According to CNBC, the app is an expansion of Shake Shack’s Shack Track, which lets guests pre-order food to be picked up later at walk-up windows, drive-thrus or in stores.

Customers will be able to track their food in real time, paying a 99 cent flat fee for delivery if their order is less than $35; delivery is free on orders surpassing $35.

Shake Shack has already tested this new product in New York and Miami.

“We found that they could do this incredibly well through this year, especially in the places where we’re strongest,” CEO Randy Garutti told CNBC.

Shake Shack added pickup windows to some locations last year, a measure prompted by the pandemic but one the chain said would likely remain a part of the design at their brick-and-mortar locations as they expected digital order volumes to remain high even after pandemic restrictions are lifted.

In an interview with PYMNTS in December, Shake Shack Head of Digital Experience Steph So said that digital improvements went from a priority to a necessity during the pandemic.

“Since the pandemic began, we have accelerated our digital investment. I don’t see that slowing down,” So said.

And that investment appears to have paid off. According to CNBC, Shake Shack saw its digital sales surge during the pandemic, to the point that they accounted for more than half the chains total fourth-quarter sales. In that same period, Shake Shack added 2 million new customers to its digital channels.

At the end of February, year-to-date app and website sales had jumped more than 300 percent from the previous year. Shake Shack’s shares jumped following the last earnings report, with revenue rising to $157.5 million. Same-store sales fell, but not as sharply as they had dropped in the previous quarter, CNBC said.