McDonald’s is jumping on the fast-food-delivery bandwagon.
On Wednesday, McDonald’s said “McDelivery” with UberEATS, Uber’s food-delivery service, was now available from more than 1,000 locations including restaurants in Los Angeles; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; and Phoenix, Arizona.
“We are bringing a new level of convenience to more of our customers as we continue to transform the McDonald’s experience,” McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement.
McDonald’s and UberEATS began testing McDelivery at 200 locations in Florida in January. According to the fast-food giant, the pilot test reflected consistent growth and resulted in high levels of customer satisfaction.
On social media, people living in areas that have had a chance to experience McDelivery seem split between two responses: disbelief and delight.
Uber eats why tf did you just add McDonald's on there wtf bro
— Dirty Rain (@dirtyrain4l) April 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/miss_annalysee/status/860288467103694848
yes, i just used UberEats for mcdonald's i love the future
— alley. (@mooonfacee) May 6, 2017
McDonald's isn't the only chain experimenting with delivery. Wendy's recently launched delivery at 135 locations in Ohio and Texas. And Panera Bread in January said it would roll out delivery this year at 35% to 40% of its locations.
While delivery is a compelling service to offer, it isn't simple for restaurants to add. In-house delivery means added complexities, like paying drivers and increased insurance costs, but using a third party could mean losing control over the food's quality.
When you work a long shift and you and your roommate just wanna eat breakfast but you have to wait an hour 😩 Come on @UberEATS @McDonalds pic.twitter.com/I42TpUhmLb
— Cee Nguyen van Os (@IamSuperC) May 2, 2017
McDonald's sales have improved recently, with same-store sales at US locations increasing 1.7% in the first quarter of 2017. However, the company reported that customer visits at the chain have remained flat from a year ago.