eCommerce Expo 2024 review: here’s why Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat et al should be embraced

“There is no point in fighting food order and delivery platforms,” said Gavin Smith, MD of Pizza Pilgrims at the eCommerce Expo 2024, Post-Purchase conference stream, held on 18th September at London ExCel.

While welcome, he did, however, also argue that this revenue must not be allowed to adversely impact on restaurant dinners positive ‘in-store’ experience.

The technology capabilities of Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo - Pizza Pilgrims partners with the latter - are so well advanced now that it is hard for restauranteurs to ignore the extra money they can provide.

But if you’re not a take-away only operation then you still need to prioritise your ‘in-store’ customer experience (CX) as they are paying a premium to eat in the restaurant.   

Riders lined up at an entrance isn’t a good look, so Pizza Pilgrims design a different door for Deliveroo agents, where they can.  

“In hospitality, the restaurant experience really matters,” said Smith in London, in conversation with the conference session moderator, Peter Backmann of theDelivery.World, who pointed out that historically eateries were just worried about Point of Sale (PoS) technology exclusively.

That is no longer the case. “We are just about to hire a dedicated Deliveroo and tech specialist at Pizza Pilgrims for example,” said Smith.

This move reflects the increased importance of this type of delivery technology in the restaurant arena. “Our new hire will concentrate solely on the data, maximising systems alignment, and on convenience and value.” 

Deliveroo partnership

Pizza Pilgrims already has an exclusive deal with Deliveroo and has worked to integrate their offering directly into its PoS. “This means orders go straight into the relevant restaurant kitchen, speeding up turnaround times,” explained Smith.

“Without PoS integration you’d add unnecessary minutes of delay, ultimately slowing down delivery times and probably cluttering up the kitchen as well with additional tablet devices.”    

While Pizza Pilgrims isn’t in the same segment as McDonalds in the quick service restaurant (QSR) arena, it does still have the magic 30-40 minute window for delivery times, and the additional foundational need to serve its customers ‘in store’ in the restaurant quickly and well.

Value is part of this mix. “Now, I’d argue that a £15 burger isn’t value in the context of McDonalds,” said Smith. “But it is in the context of a full service restaurant with waiting staff. Value is important but subjective.

It’s the intersection between price and quality that matters.”

However, value perceptions are different for at home deliveries. Pizza Pilgrims doesn’t do discounting. But this makes timeliness, ease and convenience even more important in its home delivery offering. That is why its partnership with Deliveroo is an essential element in its business.

Service fees and additional costs in this segment are on the rise, however, especially as the venture capital that many of these external delivery operators lived on up until now has disappeared as interest rates - and consequently the cost of capital - has gone up.

Getting a rider to deliver your goods first, not second or third, is a factor to consider as well.   

The effort of partnering with a food order and delivery platforms is still worth it, even despite them naturally taking their own cut. “Pre-Covid this was incremental revenue for a lot of businesses. But it’s become a lot more important since then across the industry generally,” said Smith, who is an ex-chef and not a technologist himself.

Dark kitchens and the like have proliferated, although this is not something that Pizza Pilgrims prioritise.

But they do have a Pizza in the Post offering where dough and ‘build’ ingredients can be sent out to customers. Drone delivery may even take flight in the future in this segment as well.     

“As an industry, restaurants have traditionally been behind retailers in terms of their technology adoption,” said Smith, while adding that he believes that is changing.

Tech projects underway

As an example, Pizza Pilgrims has three key tech projects underway at present. In answer to a question from RTIH’s in-situ reporter, Smith exclusively explained that they are:

• Ingesting the CRM Stampede AI tool: to aid the firm’s marketing efforts. 

• Selecting a customer sentiment analysis tool: “We currently use Sentiment Search to examine Google reviews and such-like but are also looking at Semantic.”

• PoS review: “This is underway at the moment, examining Toast and many other providers,” said Smith.

Pizza Pilgrims is also looking at new handheld devices and extra functionality in this area for its wait staff as well, added Smith. This reflects the growing importance of technology in the restaurant hospitality sector, which is no longer a backwater in relation to once advanced retailers.