Dive Brief:

• Local restaurant food ordering platforms ChowNow and delivery.com have partnered with Google to allow customers to order delivery using Google Search, Google Maps and Google Assistant, according to two separate press releases. 
• Google users browsing for restaurants will be able to place orders from one of delivery.com's 12,000 local restaurants by clicking an "Online Order" button, the press release stated.
• All ChowNow's over 11,000 restaurant partners also have this feature and can accept orders via these Google platforms, according to a press release. 

Dive Insight:

Partnering with Google will help local restaurants gain greater visibility as more food delivery options become available. Although there are several apps dedicated to helping hungry diners find exactly what they're craving, many people still turn to the popular search engine to find information about local restaurants, menus, hours and reservations.

For restaurants, visibility is a key component of successful marketing. Restaurants are clamoring to ensure that they have the best and quickest delivery services as consumers spend less time dining in and are increasingly opting for convenience. Half of consumers order takeout at least once a month and over a third of consumers want to see delivery features on restaurant apps. For restaurants that don't have the digital capabilities to build out an app that offers delivery, using Google’s platform can help them remain competitive. The millennial crowd is three times more likely to order takeout on top of that and tends to adopt new technology much quicker.

For Google, there are serious benefits in aggregating restaurant offerings from multiple services, particularly when it comes to being seen as the ultimate source for culinary listings. It also is quickly becoming a one-stop-shop, adding reviews on Maps and providing suggestions on what to eat via Google Lens within the last few months. Google isn't alone in partnering with third-party delivery providers for easy ordering, however. TripAdvisor partnered with DoorDash in 2018 to allow users to order directly from its app for more than 24,000 restaurant listings. 

Listing a restaurant with Google is not a surefire way to keep the online orders rolling, however. Over half of consumers still prefer to order directly from the restaurant, perhaps due to fears that something will get lost in translation or a desire to avoid additional delivery surcharges from third-party services. Only 6% of fast casual and 3% of QSR consumers prefer to use a third-party app like DoorDash, Grubhub, UberEats or Postmates to place their orders, according to Tillster, even though these apps are gaining popularity and venture capital financing.

The fact that Google integrates with so many other features that consumers use on a regular basis will help smaller delivery partners like ChowNow and delivery.com in particular. With Google Maps as the most popular navigation app, these providers will gain a significant amount of access to new consumers.