You Can Now Order Food on Facebook – but Do You Need It?
You no longer need to browse multiple websites (or even paper menus) or speak to someone on the phone to order takeout and delivery. With apps like Grubhub, Seamless, and PostMates, ordering food is easier than ever. And now Facebook is looking to make that process even easier: Without even leaving the app, you can order food between updating your status and accidentally stalking that friend from elementary school.
Facebook food ordering – recent but not new
The social media giant’s Order Meal feature, created in collaboration between Facebook and food delivery sites Delivery.com and Slice, is available in its app and desktop site for select users. Facebook first introduced ordering from restaurants back in October: You place orders at any restaurant that uses Delivery.com or Slice, right from your Facebook page. Facebook is now bringing food ordering functionality to the main navigation page.
How to order food on Facebook
To use, go to the Browse tab and click the colorful online hamburger icon or the blue hamburger icon that says Order Food in the menu area of the mobile app. From here, you can access a list of restaurants that offer delivery and / or pickup via Facebook with additional information such as price range, star rating and type of cuisine.
If the restaurant is open, you will see the Start Order button, and if it is closed, you will see the View Menu button – the latter will allow you to explore the menu and indicate the opening hours. Before Facebook lets you order, it asks for your address to make sure the restaurant is actually taking you to your location. And after you successfully place an order, it allows you to determine how much you want to tip and pay for food directly from Facebook.
Is it worth it?
There is no doubt that for the 1.28 billion daily active Facebook users who have access to this feature, ordering food will become easier – the interface is easy to use and eliminates the need to find out if the institution has an online ordering option. It’s perfect for you if you spend a lot of time on a desktop app or site. But if you are the type of person who uses a social media platform here and there, it may not matter.
The ideal demographic group for this function – it is the users who spend a lot of time in Facebook, and / or users who need easy access to food without having to download another application. In fact, Facebook can be successful in attracting leads who haven’t joined food delivery apps yet. But for those already using a third-party delivery service, especially indifferent Facebook users, there is little incentive or need to order food from a social media app.