Today in Restaurant and Grocery Tech: Walmart Goes Driverless; DoorDash Launches Nationwide Shipping

Today in restaurant and grocery tech news, Walmart brings middle-mile fulfillment into the future, and DoorDash wages war on Goldbelly. Plus, Carson Goodale, chief strategy officer and co-founder of FanFood, a mobile ordering platform for live events, explains how digital concessions technology can serve as an access point for fully connected venues.

Walmart Marks Milestone With Fully Driverless Deliveries

Walmart announced on Monday (Nov. 8) that the autonomous trucking company Gatik has been moving customer orders daily without a safety driver on a route in Bentonville, Arkansas, the first such middle-mile delivery anywhere in the world.

Payments Tech Company Makes AP for QSRs a ‘Priority’

Payments technology firm Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. has joined forces with the business process automation provider OneDataSource to improve accounts payable (AP) processes for quick-service restaurants (QSRs), according to a Monday (Nov. 8) press release.

DoorDash Aims to Edge out Goldbelly With ‘Nationwide Shipping’ Launch

Throughout 2021, food delivery services have been redefining their businesses to expand their use cases, aiming to meet consumers’ instant needs across the restaurant and retail categories. Now, DoorDash is taking a sharp turn away from on-demand fulfillment, launching Nationwide Shipping. The service sends food and retail goods from local shops and restaurants to consumers anywhere in the country to arrive several days later or at a set time in the future.

Consumers Seek Contactless Technologies for Live Event Concessions

Over the past 20 months, consumers have increasingly come to expect on-demand gratification and digital convenience when ordering food at home, and these expectations are beginning to change the way they interact with all food-service businesses. The on-demand economy is changing how students dine on college campuses, how travelers purchase foods at airports and now how spectators at live events interact with concessionaires. FanFood’s Goodale tells PYMNTS how contactless ordering and payment tools are transforming live event concessions.