Today in Restaurant and Grocery Tech: DoorDash and Instacart Set Their Sights on Value-Seeking Shoppers

Today in restaurant and grocery tech news, DoorDash launches same-day delivery with Dollar General, while Instacart launches cost-saving features. Plus, Steve Simoni, CEO of contactless ordering and payment technology provider Bbot, speaks with PYMNTS about how omnichannel restaurant eCommerce requires tech providers to offer more flexibility.

Dollar General, DoorDash Team Up for Same-Day Delivery

Dollar General and DoorDash on Thursday (Nov. 11) said they’re teaming up for on-demand delivery of household essentials, including food, snacks and cleaning supplies, the latest in a series of recent expansions for DoorDash.

Germany’s Delivery Hero Predicts Rosy Revenue Forecast

Germany’s Delivery Hero says its 2021 revenue outlook looks positive, as the online food delivery service reaps the benefits of investing in food delivery and quick commerce. As Reuters reported on Thursday (Nov. 11), this announcement comes amid a consolidation wave in the home delivery sector, which has boomed during the pandemic.

Dutch Bros. Doubles Down on Face-to-Face Servers, Won’t Remove People From Process

As restaurant brands turn to digital order-taking and service technologies to minimize labor in today’s challenging staffing market, Dutch Bros. is choosing to keep human servers central to the ordering experience. On a call with analysts on Wednesday (Nov. 10) discussing its first quarterly earnings release since going public, the Grants Pass, Oregon-based drive-thru coffee chain highlighted this face-to-face interaction as a key differentiator for the brand.

Grocery Roundup: Instacart Woos Lower-Income Consumers; Williams Sonoma Eyes Contextual Commerce

Instacart announces new cost-saving features and rolls out same-day alcohol delivery, Williams Sonoma launches a Recipes app and Misfits Market arrives in California.

Outdated Technologies Keep Ghost Kitchens from Reaching Their Customers

The ghost kitchen space has evolved faster than the tools that restaurants have to manage their virtual presence. Steve Simoni, CEO of contactless ordering and payment technology provider Bbot, speaks with PYMNTS about how the proliferation of commerce channels is challenging tech providers to offer more flexible products.