(Newswire.net — October 15, 2017) — Facebook launches a food delivery service across the US. According to the social media giant’s executive Alex Himel, Facebook decided to simplify food ordering in the US.
“Today, we’re taking the time out of finding what you want to eat by officially launching the ability to order food for pick-up or delivery, directly on Facebook,“ Himel said, TechCrunch reports.
Facebook users already share their dining experiences from various places they eat. So, reading about nearby restaurants has become a daily routine for most users.
“People already go to Facebook to figure out what to eat by reading about nearby restaurants, and seeing what their friends say about them. So, we’re making it even easier,” Himel said, adding that ordering food should be simple. However, previously the process of ordering was a bit too clunky, according to Himel who said that a new app for food delivery is going to change all that.
“First you need to decide what to eat, then you have to sift through a bunch of options and services,” Himel posted a comment on Friday on his Facebook page. A new Facebook app “Order Food“ lets users explore various menus from nearby restaurants.
Facebook joined up with several online food delivery services and national chains like Papa John’s International, Mexican Grill Inc, Jack in the Box Inc, Five Guys, Denny’s and Chipotle.
After users pick a meal, the app automatically transfers them to a third-party delivery service like Delivery.com, EatStreet, DoorDash and Olo, and using a partner’s service it secures meal delivery at your doorstep.
Although the delivery path is familiar, however, the way Facebook will help you decide what to eat is probably done by yet another algorithm that goes through the user’s behavior on the social network.
According to Techcrunch, “instead of seeing users exit to other apps for common tasks, like ordering a pizza,” users can now finish orders within one app. Of course, it would require the user to stay longer in Facebook’s food ordering app which means extra room for advertising. Since Facebook won’t charge for food ordering using its app, selling advertisements should skyrocket.
Apptopia CEO Eliran Sapir argued on Friday that a new food ordering app from Facebook is not really about the food. „It’s about selling to its advertisers and publishers that its users spend an incredible amount of time in its app on a daily basis,” Sapir said