Dive Brief:
- DoorDash is adding new features to drive orders during slow dayparts, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday.
- Restaurants can offer specific items as specials during the lunch hour, defined as 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and schedule happy hour discounts from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- This move is similar to Uber Eats’ addition of marketing tools in December to help restaurants reach more customers during the holiday season by highlighting holiday happy hours.
Dive Insight:
The features were implemented following feedback from restaurants who wanted new ways to optimize their kitchen and staff, bring in more customers and boost off-premise demand, DoorDash said.
Internal DoorDash data indicated order volumes in the lunch period were roughly half the order volumes of the dinner daypart, with a similar lull from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Data from restaurants who engaged in targeted daypart discounting on DoorDash indicated such a strategy could draw traffic.
“Restaurants who use item level discounts have seen an average of 33% increase in sales during Happy Hour, and an average of 23% increase in sales during Lunch Specials,” the press release states.
As many restaurants have struggled with traffic over the last year, some, like Little Caesars and Subway, have turned to daypart-agnostic menu items — snacks and beverages that can satisfy customers between meals or complement a full meal — as a way to bring consumers in during slower periods. At the same time, a great many chains have launched steep discounts, new, value-focused menu items, or channel-specific discounts to encourage consumer traffic.
