Ever gone neck and neck with another car down the road for several miles only to suddenly have them speed up and leave you in a cloud of freeway dust? That’s probably how a lot of third-party delivery services are starting to feel about Uber Eats right now.
Grubhub remains the bigger company in terms of market share, but Uber Eats is the fastest-growing service, and according to recent numbers has the lead in 15 major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Austin, and Seattle.
And that number will most likely increase, as Uber Eats just announced its acquisition of restaurant tech company orderTalk, who’s online ordering platform is known for its direct and easy integration with existing and custom custom POS systems for restaurants. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Uber Eats head of biz dev, Liz Meyerdirk, told Skift the acquisition is part of a two-fold strategy: to reduce the amount of errors, which can arise with manually entering orders, and to streamline workflow, so that orders via UberEats go direct to the kitchen, sans middleman.
For now, Uber Eats will “retain orderTalk’s point of sale technology as well as several engineers,” according to Meyerdirk. They’ll wind down other orderTalk features over the coming year, including the ability for restaurants to accept orders through the orderTalk platform. (Presumably, they’ll have to switch to Uber Eats.)
The acquisition is none too soon, considering Grubhub already integrates with leading POS systems and has exclusive deals with several big-name chains, including its recently announced partnership with Jack in the Box.
Not to be outpaced, Uber Eats has its own deals with quick-service heavyweights, including its lucrative and exclusive partnership with McDonald’s. They also just inked a deal a deal with Popeye’s to deliver in Florida, New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago.
If you happen to be a Miami-area resident, the Uber Eats-Popeye’s deal means you can get free chicken, biscuits, and red beans today in celebration. Head over to the Uber Eats website or app to get the goods.
For the rest of you, more Uber Eats deals are probably speeding your way in the very near future.
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