Technology

Toast gives restaurants a cheaper delivery option with Uber

The POS provider now allows restaurants to choose Uber or DoorDash for handling delivery orders, with a 50-cent price difference.
Restaurants that use Toast will have a choice to make on delivery. | Photo: Shutterstock

Toast, the big restaurant POS company, is giving restaurants a slightly more affordable way to process delivery orders that come through their Toast ordering channels.

On Thursday, the company announced that Uber Direct, Uber’s white-label delivery system, is now available for restaurants who use Toast’s online ordering products. If a restaurant opts into the integration, orders placed on a restaurant’s Toast-powered website or app will be routed to Uber, which will take it from there. Restaurants will pay a flat fee of $6.99 per order.

Previously, Toast had offered only DoorDash’s white-label service, DoorDash Drive, as an option for direct delivery orders. That costs $7.49 per order.

The nearly 7% difference in price could add up quickly for restaurants that do a lot of delivery. 

Toast did not respond to a question about the reason for the price difference. But it said that restaurants will still be able to choose which of the two services they want to deliver their food. 

“Partnering with Uber Direct will help restaurants maximize their margins with commission-free deliveries and reach more guests,” said Kelly Esten, Toast CMO, in a statement. “We are excited to offer these new benefits to restaurants across the United States.”

About 127,000 restaurants nationwide use Toast.

DoorDash in a statement said that restaurants who currently use DoorDash Drive through Toast can opt in to continue using it, and that it stands by the quality, speed and punctuality of its service.

It is the latest twist in the battle between DoorDash and Uber Eats for food delivery supremacy. DoorDash is the market leader, accounting for 67% meal delivery sales as of March, according to Bloomberg Second Measure, while Uber Eats took in 23% of sales. 

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