Today in restaurant and grocery tech news, restaurants address consumers’ rising contagion concerns with new safety measures and digital innovations, while Delivery Hero rolls back its German business. Plus, grocery shoppers seek out buy now, pay later options.
Delivery Hero Leaves German Cities and Japan, Citing Competition, Driver Shortages
Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda unit will exit six German cities — Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart — and sell its Japanese Foodpanda division in the first quarter of next year. The move by Delivery Hero is a major victory for Just Eat Takeaway.com, which has a large footprint in Germany.
Restaurants Leverage Learnings From Previous Outbreaks to Take on Omicron
The rapid spread of the omicron variant may spell bad news for the restaurant industry, but today’s eateries are better able to handle the challenges of stay-at-home norms and social distancing measures than they were at the start of March 2020.
21% of Consumers Are Interested in Using BNPL to Pay for Groceries
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More retailers are making a buy now, pay later (BNPL) option available at checkout, as they are finding that the increasingly popular payment method allows them to sell to customers they otherwise may not be able to reach.
Rapid Delivery Startup Getir Targets US Expansion
Rapid delivery startup Getir is already zipping around New York City, Chicago and Boston, but its under-10-minute drop-off service for groceries and essentials will soon be targeting a larger footprint in the U.S.
On-Demand Alcohol Delivery Options Expand Despite Slow Adoption
Since the start of the pandemic, on-demand delivery has taken over the restaurant industry and gained significant ground in grocery. Yet, facing increased oversight and regulation, alcoholic beverage businesses have been slower to penetrate the bring-it-to-me economy.
Uber-Backed Robotics Startup Predicts Autonomous Food Delivery Will Be in All Major Cities Within 5 Years
“The way we are doing the deliveries today, relying on one human being having to move one burrito to its final destination … It’s just not going to scale,” Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Postmates spinoff Serve Robotics, tells PYMNTS in an interview. “I think it’s a perfect time for the robots to step in and help with this problem.”
