Amazon is continually adding new capabilities to its Alexa package, and the newest one involves around ordering food and having it delivered. Their latest partnership with GrubHub allows you to do just that, although on a limited basis for now. You simply add the Grubhub skill to Alexa and what prompts you want to use, such as “Alexa, open Grubhub” or, “Alexa, tell Grubhub I’m hungry” to order food. Alexa will then list the last three orders you placed with Grubhub, and you can pick from one of those three selections. Once you place the order, Grubhub will inform you just how long it will take to receive your delivery. While it is rather limited, it seems that most people do order the same pizza or hot wings each time from the same restaurants, so there is certainly a place for Alexa and Grubhub until more options become available.
Service oriented apps or companies are all the rage, and anything that can help keep our lives easier is a win-win for both the consumer and that third party that Alexa teams with to make ordering food easier. Alexa and Google Home devices are invading our living space as ‘one-of-the-family.’ Many of its functions can be done via our smartphone, but with Alexa sitting there, all we need to do is ask a question. So while Grubhub is an app that can be used from a smartphone, building it into Alexa makes it that much easier to use, especially if its capabilities expand.
Grubhub is one of the more popular apps among smartphone users and as the world becomes a busier place with people working more and longer, there seems to be a significant increase in appeal for services such as Grubhub and therefore, newer and quicker ways to engage with that service. For instance, a number of these services even offer the option to receive food from restaurants that might not typically deliver themselves. As such, the pairing of Alexa and Grubhub could be a recipe for success. Adding to the launch proceedings Grubhub has also confirmed that anyone who orders three times in March (via the new Alexa feature) will automatically be entered into a special sweepstakes with the chance of winning a $500 Grubhub gift card.