UberEats, McDonald’s Get Together for UK Delivery

June 27, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

Remember when we were talking about McDonald’s going delivery? How bizarre the notion of McNuggets direct to your home was? Well, apparently it’s not that bizarre, as new reports suggest it’s currently going on at some UK McDonald’s locations, thanks to a new connection with UberEats.

The service will be coming to London, of course, but also to Nottingham and Leeds, which provides one more option for home-delivered restaurant fare across the region. The UberEats effort will join Amazon Prime Now, Deliveroo and Just-Eat, which likewise offer food delivery efforts. The difference here, however, is that only UberEats will have the official McDonald’s connection with 22 different McDonald’s locations.

Reports suggest that all this is in aid of an ongoing project geared to spot what works and what doesn’t in the delivery field, and if this actually works, a much greater expansion is waiting in the wings.

That’s good news for McDonald’s, who at last report was looking for alternatives to bolster its sagging fortunes in the face of a whole slew of competitors. It’s also good news for Uber, which has been on the ropes lately thanks to new competitors, corporate culture issues and the recent departure of CEO Travis Kalanick.

Delivery systems for food might well be one of the great ideas, at least until the concept of drone delivery fires up. Then, delivery will remain good for McDonald’s et al, and less so for Uber, which will probably lose that business altogether to multi-rotor drone aircraft. Of course, this also depends on the Federal Aviation Administration making a major move quickly, and given the current state of things in Washington, “rapid action” is probably about as far down the list as “amateur eyeball surgery.”

Still, make hay while the sun shines, as the old saying goes, and start gathering together the capital to make the next big move! Since we’re also looking multinationally, there may be pockets of market where car delivery stays king longer still. Uber may have a great thing going right now, and at least for a little while to come, so it might as well take advantage of a clear change in the making.