Grubhub announced today it has inked an exclusive partnership with rideshare service Lyft to offer the latter’s Lyft Pink members complimentary access to Grubhub+, according to a press release sent to The Spoon.
Lyft Pink is the rideshare service’s membership program that offers riders perks like priority airport pickup, discounts, and bikes and scooters. The free Grubhub+ membership (which normally costs $9.99/month) will add further items to that list, including free unlimited delivery, discounts on meals, and donation matching for contributions made to Grubhub’s Community Relief fund.
Grubhub launched Grubhub+ earlier this year, following in the footsteps of other third-party delivery services that offer membership programs, like DoorDash’s DashPass membership and Uber Eat’s Eats Pass. And much like DoorDash’s DashPass-Amex partnership from earlier this year, Grubhub’s teaming up with Lyft subscribers gives the delivery service access to an even wider base of potential customers.
For Lyft, the partnership could be a much-needed boost at a time when the pandemic has devastated the rideshare business but built up the food delivery sector. Uber, for example, has said its Eats business is now its main money maker. While the Lyft-Grubhub deal is slightly different, since Lyft does not own Grubhub, the rideshare service may still see the partnership as an opportunity to bolster its flailing numbers. With COVID-19 cases rising again and the threat of shutdowns for non-essential businesses looming, Lyft will need new customer acquisition channels outside its ride share business for some time to come.
Grubhub, meanwhile, was the center of a bidding war earlier this year, with food delivery mega-company Just Eat Takeaway.com finally winning out and buying the service for $7.3 billion. Grubhub and other third-party delivery services also remain at the center of many a controversy — commission fees, worker classification, non-partner restaurants. That makes wider access to Grubhub through deals like Lyft and Just Eat Takeaway.com beneficial for customers but not necessarily great news for restaurants.
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