Today, Facebook announced a new feature through which users can order food from local restaurants using the Facebook mobile app as well as its website. Facebook has not come with their own independent solution. Instead, the company has partnered with a number of established organizations in the industry like EatStreet, Delivery.com, DoorDash, ChowNow, Olo, Zuppler, and Slice. It is also working directly with certain restaurant chains like Jack in the Box, Five Guys, Papa John’s, Wingstop, TGI Friday’s, Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, Chipotle, Jimmy John’s, and Panera.
You can head to the new “Order Food” option in the Explore menu, find a local restaurant to order your food from and then hit “start order”. If the restaurant supports more than one Facebook’s ordering partners, you will be able to choose between them. Once you do, you will automatically be redirected to the in-app browser that takes you to the existing websites where you can place the orders either for takeout or for delivery. If you already have a Delivery.com (or any other ordering partner) account, you can use the existing account. If you are a new member, you can sign up for Delivery.com directly from Facebook. You will also be able to see reviews from your friends about a restaurant that will assist you in making a decision.
Last fall, it announced a deal with Delivery.com and Slice which allowed users to directly order from the facebook pages of the supported restaurants.
Today, Facebook confirmed that the “Order Food” feature has been in the testing phase since last year. After adding more partners and analysing customer feedbacks, this feature has been rolled out on Android, iOS and desktop all over the United States. According to Facebook, this feature will keep users on Facebook for longer periods since they won’t need to leave the app for simple tasks like ordering a pizza. The company has rolled out a number of features like weather info, instant games, a jobs board, movie listings, booking appointments and more with the same objective.
The company has confirmed that it does not charge any fees or share any portion of the profit for the orders placed via its platform.