Brief:
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Chipotle saw a 667% jump in weekly delivery orders after partnering with DoorDash to offer the service nationwide, per a press release. Chipotle customers received free delivery on orders of $10 or more placed through DoorDash from April 30 to May 6, including the celebration of Cinco de Mayo.
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The average DoorDash delivery time from order to drop-off was 34 minutes. Chicago, Dallas and Denver saw the most delivery orders. The most frequently ordered items nationwide were burrito bowls, burritos and chips and guacamole.
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The DoorDash partnership is the biggest one so far for Chipotle, making delivery available from more than 1,500 restaurants across the country. The companies plan to expand operations in the U.S. and Canada.
Insight:
While Chipotle struggled with tainted-food scandals, rising food prices and wage pressures, other fast food chains like McDonald’s, Taco Bell and most of the pizza industry, were getting into the delivery service market. But with new CEO Brian Niccol, a veteran of rival Taco Bell, at the helm of the burrito maker, the early success of its new DoorDash partnership signals that it's beginning to change course.
The efforts follow the company's introduction in November of a redesigned mobile app that included features such as coupon offers, quick reordering of past meals and streamlined checkouts with mobile pay options. In a move to appeal to consumers looking for a more friction-free dining experience, the chain also partnered with Facebook's "Order Food" feature in October, which lets customers save time and order Chipotle takeout or delivery in a streamlined social media app.
Chipotle last year started to take steps to reconfigure its stores with a second counter dedicated to fulfilling online and digital orders. The counter is separate from the customer-facing line, so there’s no disruption to in-store customer orders. Chipotle last week had record-high digital orders with no effect on wait times for in-store customers, the company said.