Today in Food Commerce: Just Eat Takeaway Raises Commissions; Restaurants Step Up Loyalty Offerings

Today in food commerce, Just Eat Takeaway raises the commission restaurants must pay, and Sweetgreen launches a loyalty program. Plus, Art Sebastian, vice president of digital experiences at Casey’s, discusses convenience store loyalty trends.

Grocers Expand Direct Delivery to Cut Out Last-Mile Middlemen

As grocers continue to seek out ways to codify their eCommerce success of the past few years into long-term eGrocery businesses, many are developing their own fulfillment networks in an effort to escape reliance on Instacart.

Citing Inflation, Just Eat Takeaway Hikes Commissions

Europe’s largest online meal ordering service is raising the commission it charges to restaurants throughout the region. As Reuters reported Monday (June 27), Just Eat Takeaway, which owns Grubhub, will increase its commissions by 1%.

Restaurant Software Provider Vivid Adds POS Offering

Vivid, a provider of software for running restaurants and processing payments, has announced a new product called Vivid POS, a smart-device point-of-sale (POS) system for use with devices that run mobile operating systems, according to a Monday (June 27) press release.

Battle for London Rages on as Q-Commerce Eyes Path to Profit

In the United Kingdom’s on-demand delivery sector — also known as quick-commerce or Q-Commerce — the story so far has been one of intense competition and consolidation as foreign companies like Germany’s Gorillas, Turkey’s Getir or U.S.-based Gopuff vie for space in the crowded market and battle with U.K. natives like Jiffy, Weezy and Zapp to be London’s top delivery service. While business seemed to be booming for a while, some London residents have found their dark store delivery options cut in half in a few short months.

Restaurants Roll out Gamified Rewards in Search of Loyalty Sweet Spot

As restaurants look to drive loyalty in the face of stiff competition for consumers’ digital ordering, those that reward customers for their spending have the advantage. However, with loyalty programs now the norm, consumers expect more than the standard model, by which they receive a set number of points for each dollar spent to be redeemed for discounts or free menu items.

Fast-casual chain Sweetgreen, for one, is launching a pilot test of a loyalty program, Rewards and Challenges, whereby members complete tasks to redeem offers.

Racing to Digitize, Convenience Stores Playing Game of Loyalty Catch-Up

Art Sebastian, vice president of digital experiences at Casey’s, the third-largest convenience store retailer in the United States, which operates more than 2,400 stores, said in an interview with PYMNTS that when it comes to loyalty rewards, the convenience store industry has some catching up to do.