Just six weeks after Grubhub announced its commercial agreement with eCommerce giant Amazon, the Chicago-based food delivery company revealed Thursday (Aug. 18) that it has partnered with multinational financial services company Bank of America to offer a year of free Grubhub+ membership to Bank of America cardholders.
Read more: Bank of America, Grubhub Offer Food Delivery Perks to Cardholders
Grubhub+, the aggregator’s membership program, offers free delivery and other perks for $9.99 per month, and it is part of the company’s effort to drive order frequency even as rising food costs have many consumers cutting back on restaurant ordering.
“We’re excited to team up with Bank of America to provide even greater value to their cardholders and introduce them to the Grubhub Marketplace,” Launika Raykar, vice president of loyalty at Grubhub, said in a statement. “This is truly a win-win, with Bank of America now rewarding cardholders with deals and perks from restaurants they will love, and Grubhub tapping into Bank of America’s loyal and vast customer base to drive even more orders to restaurant owners and drivers.”
Last month, the aggregator, the U.S. subsidiary of multinational food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway, announced a similar deal for U.S. Amazon Prime members, which came as part of an agreement by which Amazon could take a 2% stake in the aggregator. Additionally, if the partnership succeeds in bringing new customers to Grubhub, Amazon could grow its stake to 15%.
See also: Grubhub Deal Gives Amazon New Ammo in Walmart Food Fight
The Amazon announcement came amid months of Just Eat Takeaway “actively exploring” the possibility of a partial or full sale of Grubhub or of bringing in a strategic partner. As such, the Amazon deal was meant to help revitalize the company.
Related news: Just Eat Takeaway Explores Sale of Grubhub as US Competitors Pull Ahead
Amazon appears to be holding up its end of the bargain. On a call with analysts earlier this month discussing Just Eat Takeaway’s half-year 2022 financial results, CEO Jitse Groen noted that the company has seen orders accelerate since the offer went live for Amazon Prime subscribers.
“I cannot disclose these [new user] numbers, … but it would surprise me a lot if you won’t see anything over the course of the next year in terms of a better trajectory for this business,” Groen said. “So, while [this commercial agreement] doesn’t address all the issues we face in the U.S., it does address a growth in market share issue. … It’s early days, but it looks pretty good to us.”
In the same earnings report, the company wrote down Grubhub by €3 billion ($3.1 billion), though Just Eat Takeaway attributed this decrease to “macroeconomic factors such as market interest rates and equity volatility” rather than to “the operational performance,” according to CFO Brent Wissink.
Wissink also expressed hope that the Amazon agreement would play a role in “strengthening Grubhub’s competitiveness” going forward, and it would seem that the Bank of America partnership aims to do the same. Yet, it remains to be seen if offering free Grubhub+ subscriptions is enough to save the aggregator from its ongoing challenges.
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