McDonald’s Delivery Service Through UberEATS Coming To Florida In January 2017

McDonald’s delivery service is coming to the state of Florida in January of 2017. In order to make this dream a reality, the famous fast-food franchise has partnered with UberEATS, according to Hayley Peterson of Business Insider.

According to Mary Bowerman of USA Today, McDonald’s spokeswoman Becca Hary has said that starting late next month, the delivery service will be available from around 200 McDonald’s restaurants throughout three major cities in the state of Florida. Orlando, Tampa, and Miami are the three Florida cities in which the select McDonald’s restaurants will be located, according to Hary.

The way in which McDonald’s delivery service will work is quite simple. Per USA Today, customers can order from the McDonald’s menu via the website or the UberEATS app. The customer can simply order their Big Mac and fries, and/or whatever else they might like from the menu, and someone then delivers the meal to that person’s front door. The customer can make the payment on their smartphone and reportedly track the progress of his or her order as well.

UberEATS, which is another creation that has been spawned from the successful Uber App, currently provides service to a total of 50 cites worldwide, according to USA Today. However, per USA Today, McDonald’s is one of the only fast-food chains to become involved thus far, which puts it ahead of its competitors.

Naturally, many people outside of the state of Florida will likely begin to wonder when McDonald’s delivery service might be coming to a city near them. At this point, some of the details still remain a bit foggy.

According to Samantha Bomkamp of the Chicago Tribune, there is no word yet on how long McDonald’s initial “test-run” may go on for. It also remains to be seen if other small steps will be taken, or if it will soon be tested out elsewhere in the country, before McDonald’s and Uber might begin to consider the possibility of making it available throughout the United States.

“It’s not clear how long the test will last or if it will be expanded to include other markets before a potential national rollout.”

In the USA Today article, the spokeswoman from McDonald’s claims that the company first hopes to get feedback from its Florida customers. After that, the company will apparently decide where to go from there and then make a determination on whether or not to expand the program.

However, Business Insider reports that the rollout will spread to other countries, including Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The goals appear to be rather bold going forward as well.

“By 2018, mobile ordering will be available at 20,000 to 25,000 restaurants worldwide.”

It also appears that the deal between McDonald’s and UberEATS may not quite be official yet, either. The Chicago Tribune reported that UberEATS had not yet commented on this particular matter. Moreover, according to a source who is “familiar with the plan,” the deal is still yet to be signed, per the Chicago Tribune.

The Chicago Tribune also reports on how McDonald’s currently does offer delivery through “third-party delivery companies,” such as Postmates. However, with a delivery fee of only $5 for UberEATS, the Chicago Tribune implies that it may be a more cost-efficient delivery option for McDonald’s customers.

According to the Chicago Tribune, “more than two-thirds” of McDonald’s business is actually conducted through the drive-through window at this time. Given that so many of its customers are already getting their meals as “food-to-go” rather than eating inside of a McDonald’s restaurant, Crain’s Chicago Business argues that a delivery option is a “natural sales channel” for McDonald’s to seek.

It also appears that McDonald’s has dedicated itself to keeping up with the times. In an article on CNBC last month, in which McDonald’s plans to implement things such as “table service” and “craft burgers” were discussed, it was described how the McDonald’s goal is to be “a modern and progressive burger company.”

Partnering with UberEats to provide a delivery service seems to fall right in line with McDonald’s vision for the future. In an age where technology has provided a way to make things easier and more convenient, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see McDonald’s delivery service with UberEATS become a success, especially in the younger generation.

[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]