McDonald’s Operators Are Worried by the Chain’s Huge Delivery Success
Skift Take
McDonald's is going full speed ahead with its Uber Eats integration, but at what cost? Some operators are saying that the system's delivery economics are unsustainable, and, eventually, that's going to have to change.
Delivery has developed into a $3 billion business across McDonald's global operations in the last two years, and a slowdown in the segment is not expected anytime soon.
Over 19,000 McDonald's locations are now set up for delivery, a 68 percent spike from delivery-enabled locations McDonald's reported six months ago. The locations that offer delivery now add up to more than half of McDonald's global footprint.
In July, McDonald's CEO Steven Easterbrook called the pace of delivery growth "unprecedented" for the company. Now, the chain is starting to think more deliberately about how to grow awareness in markets outside of the usual suspects of New York City, Chicago, or San Francisco, where food delivery options have been around
