DoorDash is going inside the restaurant. The delivery firm announced Tuesday its intent to acquire Bbot, a technology provider that creates seamless in-restaurant experiences for customers.
Terms were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.
“We’re excited to bring our combined suite to an even wider selection of merchants across the hospitality space – including bars, hotels and ghost kitchens – so these businesses can engage with more customers, increase their quality of service and grow sales,” said Tom Pickett, DoorDash’s chief revenue officer. “Bbot has built best-in-class features and highly customizable tools that will enable DoorDash to better support the ever-growing range of merchant needs.”
Bbot’s technology allows restaurants, ghost kitchens and other food and beverage venue operators including bars, breweries and hotels, to offer in-store customers the option to order using a QR code that quickly brings up an online interactive menu for ordering. The company said that its merchant-branded technology enables restaurants to improve the customer experience while enabling faster table turn times and better utilization of tables even when understaffed.
DoorDash (NYSE: DASH) noted that adding Bbot to its first-party platform services such as Drive and Storefront will help address merchant requests for a more integrated and simplified software solution across their online and offline offerings.
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“Over the past few years, the hospitality industry has seen the benefits of growing their online channels as well as digitizing their in-store operations,” said Steve Simoni, CEO of Bbot. “Joining forces with DoorDash enables us to more rapidly scale our solutions so that, together, we can equip more businesses with more low-cost tools to help them provide excellent customer experiences and compete in today’s digital world.”
Bbot’s technology works with existing point of sale systems, loyalty programs and reservation services. It can be used on multiple device types, including handhelds and tablets.
DoorDash reported on Feb. 16 that Q4 2021 revenue came in at $1.3 billion, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.28 billion, but it was the fifth consecutive quarter in which the company’s revenue growth slowed year-over-year. DoorDash also posted a net loss per diluted share of 45 cents, greater than expectations of 23 cents per share. For FY2021, revenue grew 69% year-over-year to about $4.9 billion, while net loss remained relatively steady at $468 million.
While investors were pleased overall with the stock, jumping over $116 per share in the day following the earnings announcement, the stock is down more than 40% from its IPO price and some investors are questioning whether the company will ever turn a profit.
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“We named DoorDash one of the most dangerous stocks for fiduciaries in November 2020 when we called it the Most Ridiculous IPO of 2020. Since the opening price on IPO date, the stock is down 43% while the S&P 500 is up 20%, and DoorDash shares could fall another 67%,” a Seeking Alpha note on Friday said.
The note said the company needed to grow its revenue consensus estimates in 2022 and 2023 and grow revenue at 25% each year through 2030 to justify a $104 per share price.
Similarly, a Forbes article cited concern in DoorDash’s path to profitability but outlined several avenues the firm could take to achieve the goal. These include entering new vehicles and markets. In November, DoorDash announced it was acquiring international food delivery platform Wolt for $8.1 billion, giving it access to 22 new global markets. The company has also forged ahead with deals to provide delivery services for retailers such as J.C. Penney, Dollar General and grocer Albertson’s.
The addition of Bbot expands its verticals even further while adding in-store ordering capabilities, giving DoorDash’s current customers even more options to increase revenue within a single platform.
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