Facebook tests food delivery product in main app in push to be 'one-stop shop'
Facebook is testing a new ‘Order Food’ icon into its main app that allows users to place food pickup or delivery orders using third party services without leaving the Facebook ecosystem.
Facebook unveils new 'Order Food' icon to select users
The ‘Order Food’ service is available on both desktop and mobile, and allows Facebook users to place food orders and pay for them all within the Facebook app, by connecting to online ordering businesses Delivery.com or Slice.
The feature is an expansion on a previously announced deal with Delivery.com and Slice first detailed in October, that intended to allow users to place orders with supported restaurants from their own Facebook page.
The “Order Food” feature is a refined version of this that works in the main navigation pane and aggregates all the supported restaurants together on one page.
The page, similar to the layout of food delivery services like Deliveroo or UberEats, lists local restaurants with a photo, price range, star rating and type of cuisine. It also displays whether delivery, pickup or both are available.
Users can then click “Start Order” to begin the ordering process, can edit orders and add tips before going through to checkout. The page then displays an order confirmation and expected time of delivery.
The service has only been rolled out to select users in the US.
The move is the latest example of Facebook's push to be a one-stop shop by introducing new functionalities and features that give users no reason to leave the Facebook app.
Other examples include Marketplace, a feature introduced in October last year that allows local communities to buy and sell items, Camera Effects, the social network’s augmented reality platform announced last month at its F8 conference to rival that of Snapchat’s, as well as its push to become a TV network.
The Drum reached out to Facebook for comment on when the feature will be rolled out more widely. The company did not respond by time of publication.