Innovation That Matters

Food ordering by text message -- Update: nationwide expansion

Telecommunications

An update on ordering food by text message: GoMobo, which launched in New York City last year (see our previous post) just announced that they’re expanding to other major cities in the US. According to GoMobo’s founder, Noah Glass, several thousand customers have used GoMobo in New York City and have saved over 3,000 hours of time by using GoMobo to place their orders. GoMobo’s growth is largely organic and fuelled by word of mouth: “We’ve been excited to see new pockets of users signing on each time we launch a new restaurant. The early adopters get a discount on their first orders as a reward for being brave. That’s how we market the service. Nothing sells a customer on GoMobo better than watching another customer use it to skip the line and get their food faster.” Members can print out a one-page sheet to give to restaurants where they’d like to be able to use the service. If the restaurant signs up, GoMobo rewards the member with USD 25 in free food. Glass states that feedback from restaurants is very positive. Average order sizes from GoMobo are 24% higher than in-store orders, and orders can be handled more quickly because payment is made when the customer places his/her order. (Payments are collected to GoMobo and deposited in the restaurant’s account.) On the customer-side: GoMobo members feel like they’re getting a VIP treatment by being able to skip the line, and obviously save time. For the national roll-out, GoMobo is recruiting sales reps across the country and giving them all the tools they need to launch restaurants locally. Reps receive a USD 125 commission for each signed restaurant, and over 500 have signed up so far.

Email: info@gomobo.com

Website: www.gomobo.com

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