McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is teaming up with startup giant Uber to provide a new home delivery service in Florida starting in January.
The new partnership between McDonald’s and Uber will see nearly 200 restaurants across markets in Tampa, Orlando and Miami take part in the trial scheme. According to a spokeswoman for McDonald’s, the company’s intention is to roll the new delivery service out to as many as 25,000 restaurants across the globe by 2018.
It’s worth noting that some McDonald’s restaurants already do offer limited delivery services through other third-party delivery companies like Postmates and DoorDash. Some chains have been less happy to join the third-party delivery service revolution. Yet the iconic fast food company’s new partnership with Uber is set to streamline delivery capabilities by leveraging the popularity of Uber’s new UberEats app.
Although UberEats now serves 50 cities around the world and offers a fairly wide restaurant selection, McDonald’s is by far the biggest name to hop on the bandwagon thus far. The app offers the opportunity for small restaurants from all over the country to sign on as partners in participating cities.
UberEats essentially enables users to type in their delivery address, enter payment details and browse restaurants and menus instantly. Through the app, customers can then choose to pick up their food in-restaurant or have their items delivered by an Uber driver. Just like the ordinary Uber app, UberEats users can then track their delivery’s progress.
This is only the latest technological advancement McDonald’s has taken on board in recent years.
In November, the company announced that it would be giving 50 more of its 14,000 American restaurants a 21st Century overhaul with self-service kiosk ordering, sleek smart menu boards and the capability to accept mobile payments.
Restaurants in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Chicago will all be making the changes at the start of 2017. McDonald’s has yet to offer up any timeline as to how long it will take to roll out the tech updates nationwide.
McDonalds and Uber Photos via Shutterstock
This article, “McDonald’s and UberEats Partnering on Delivery Service” was first published on Small Business Trends