Take That, Tim Horton’s! Dunkin’ Donuts Expands Delivery

August 1, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

Just days after word about Tim Horton’s expanded mobile payments options, Dunkin’ Donuts stepped up with word of its own about an expansion effort in its donut delivery operations. Now, the practice is in place in around 750 stores, and it’s likely not going to stop there.

It’s perhaps a strange point that Dunkin’ Donuts recently missed some of its analyst expectations, despite seeing growth in the quarter. It was easy enough for some to draw a connection between McDonald’s recent move to offer all-day breakfast and the decline at Dunkin’ Donuts, but that’s a connection that even the CEO of Dunkin’ Donuts—Nigel Travis—dismisses.

Essentially, Travis notes that, while all-day McDonald’s breakfast is attractive to some, it’s not really working in the same market as Dunkin’ Donuts is. Dunkin’ Donuts is focused on the morning market, and “all the research”—as Travis notes—is showing everyone’s coming to it for breakfast. Reasonable enough; after all, Dunkin’ Donuts is more than just a quick breakfast. That kind of versatility is likely helping it in the field.

Travis also elaborated on the delivery program itself, saying “I believe that the food delivery trend is just starting, I think. I’ve talked to people overseas, and delivery is bigger than it is in the U.S. One thing we talked about in the call is integrating catering. Down the road, we’ve got plans I’m not going to reveal today to make delivery more integrated.”

Travis is right here. Food delivery really is just getting started, and if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would just get out of the way already, we’d have food delivery via drone aircraft from a host of different restaurants. Virtually all food within a 30 mile radius of a person’s home, give or take, would likely be available for home delivery. People want that convenience factor, the ability to get just about any food at any given time without having to travel great distances both to and from the location in question.

Delivery is going to make this happen, and mobile payments will likely be the primary catalyst. Dunkin’ Donuts is just the tip of the convenience food iceberg, and hopefully, there will be plenty of places following suit in short order.