Silke Jasso
Is the convenience of having a Quarter Pounder and fries delivered to your home or office worth a $5 fee? McDonald’s hopes it will be.
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The fast-food chain is expanding its partnership with UberEats to offer delivery in Chicago, Columbus, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The two had already teamed up to offer McDonald’s delivery in Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida, earlier this year.
In all, McDonald’s says “McDelivery” is now available from more than 1,000 U.S. locations.
“We are bringing a new level of convenience to more of our customers as we continue to transform the McDonald’s experience,” Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s CEO, said in a statement.
McDonald’s hopes delivery can help turn around its U.S. business, which has seen customer visits decline.
Uber says its delivery fee varies depending on the city, but that it is generally a flat $4.99. There could also be a “busy area” fee of $1 to $2 where demand is high.
Delivery is the newest trend in fast food, but hiring a fleet of drivers can be a huge undertaking for chains. Companies like Uber, Postmates and DoorDash, among others, help ease the financial burden on restaurants and act as a third-party delivery service, CNBC reported Wednesday.
McDonald’s already has well-established delivery services in Asia and the Middle East, where for some restaurants delivery is 40 percent of sales. Last year, the Golden Arches garnered nearly $1 billion in delivery sales globally, CNBC said.
