Olo works with over 100 technology partners to provide an ‘open ecosystem’ that allows companies to plug-in and utilise a wide variety of digital tools, and the Olo platform acts as the glue that brings them altogether. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool’s free podcasts, check out our podcast center. To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks. Olo currently works with 400 brands across 64,000 restaurant locations, playing an integral part of a chain’s digital ordering channels. Clients include Wingstop, Applebee’s, Chili’s, Denny’s, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Jamba, Noodles & Company, Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, Red Robin, Dairy Queen, and Cracker Barrel.
Food delivery app DoorDash is seeking “tens of million of dollars” in damages from its partner, software company Olo, accusing it of breaching a contract and fraudulently overcharging it. Dispatch enables restaurants to accommodate delivery orders through their own website or app. This is less costly than being listed on a delivery marketplace because commission fees for restaurants are less per order. Its Ordering module provides chains a white label direct-to-consumer ordering channel. So when a customer orders pickup from Wingstop’s app or website, Olo is powering that service. This means businesses can launch their own digital ordering service using their own brand and centralise all incoming orders regardless if they are made through mobile, on a computer, or physically inside the restaurant.
- Many restaurants have turned to delivery service providers and online marketplaces as a quick way to launch new services, but Olo thinks that has created new challenges that need to be dealt with.
- Still, Olo has delivered a lot with very little capital compared to many businesses, having received less than $100 million in primary investment capital since being founded.
- Glass’ mobile ordering technology pre-dates the iPhone as early technology made text messaging orders between consumers and restaurants possible.
- These larger customers, defined as those with over 50 locations, have also proven extremely loyal, with 99% of them having renewed their ordering subscriptions in 2020.
Revenue almost doubled in 2020 and it escaped the red by posting a small pretax profit. However, Olo has warned limefx that it expects to report losses ‘in the near term’ as it continues to grow and operating costs increase.
Learn how a fully-integrated, restaurant-centric payment platform can help you drive sales, improve operations, reduce fraud, and simplify day-to-day payment processes. Building a branded online ordering experience shouldn’t be hard.Discover why traditional restaurant brands and virtual concepts rely on our powerful ordering https://broker-review.org/ platform to maximize profitability, streamline operations, and meet guests where they are. Olo in New York provides an on-demand interface for the restaurant industry, designed to drive digital ordering and delivery for restaurant brands. Olo’s platform marries restaurants with a vast and complex vendor market.
Customers have traditionally started out using the ordering part of the Olo platform before starting to use other modules such as delivery and rails. In 2019, only 44% of Olo’s customers used all three modules but that rose to 71% in 2020. The adoption of the delivery and rails modules opens the door to more transactional revenue rather than the steady-and-stable subscription income provided through orders.
A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association revealed that almost two-thirds of people prefer to order with the restaurant itself rather than through a site like Uber Eats or DoorDash. One major benefit of Olo’s model is that it targets businesses that have multiple restaurant locations and signs them all up at once, rather than having the painstaking task of gradually signing up individual sites over time. Notably, subscription revenue has driven the business so far but transaction revenue is gradually becoming more important.
Olo’s Earnings: A Preview
The Motley Fool reaches millions of people every month through our premium investing solutions, free guidance and market analysis on Fool.com, top-rated podcasts, and non-profit The Motley Fool Foundation. Unlike third-party delivery providers, Olo’s prime mission is to drive digital orders through a restaurant’s own branded channels. “Growing consumer demand for convenience has made off-premise consumption, which includes take-out, drive-thru, and delivery orders, the single largest contributor to restaurant industry growth,” the company wrote in a regulatory filing. “Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, off-premise consumption accounted for 60% of restaurant orders in 2020, and was expected to contribute 70% to 80% of total restaurant industry growth in the next five years, according to the National Restaurant Association.”
The pandemic has forced restaurants to go digital to ensure they can take as many orders as possible and Olo believes most have little choice but to partner with another company to bring them into the digital age. Many restaurants have turned to delivery service providers and online marketplaces as a quick way to launch new services, but Olo thinks that has created new challenges that need to be dealt with. Using a third-party delivery service or online marketplace has eroded what are already razor-thin margins, and it has given control over important aspects of the customer journey to another company. With that, the valuable data that is gathered from customer shopping habits goes not the restaurants but to the third-party, meaning restaurants struggle to build a better understanding of their customers. Olo believes its platform can help restaurants digitise their business and solve these problems. Olo is a software company that helps restaurants like Shake Shack and Chili’s manage its online orders.
See OLO ratings with Premium.
It will also continue to expand its ecosystem so it can provide new products and services. Olo has highlighted the likes of payments, on-premise dining and data analytics are areas it will focus on. Learn why (and how) leading brands are focusing on building a restaurant tech stack that digitizes every transaction, captures more data, and grows guest lifetime value. Discover how to maximize your restaurant revenue across channels, unlock actionable guest data, and grow your business with this comprehensive direct ordering ebook.
See all the ways Olo can help you go digital
Although City Index is not specifically prevented from dealing before providing this material, City Index does not seek to take advantage of the material prior to its dissemination. This material is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation. Bloomberg reported in early 2020 that Olo was valued at around $1 billion, demonstrating the pace of growth that Olo has experienced since then. Olo completed its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange on March 16, listing under the ticker ‘OLO’. These larger customers, defined as those with over 50 locations, have also proven extremely loyal, with 99% of them having renewed their ordering subscriptions in 2020. Thoughtfully greet and serve dine-in and takeout guests with our all-in-one waitlist, reservation, order, and table management tool.
AMTD Digital: Behind the Hype, Risks Lurk for the Overvalued Stock
Olo is a US-based company founded in 2005 that provides a software platform used by the restaurant industry. Olo said 70% of its customers joined because they wanted to own their online presence and build their own digital relationship with people. Having your own system also means a restaurant chain can take ownership over the invaluable data collected from customers rather than giving this away to third-parties. The dispatch offering allows restaurants to offer and manage their own delivery service, rather than rely on those provided by food delivery companies while retaining more control over the quality of the service and the customer data it collects. Olo, Inc. engages in the provision of cloud-based, on-demand commerce platform for multi-location restaurant brands.
Create a free account to gain access to news, analysis, and real-time alerts on the stocks you follow. Enable guests to scan a QR code to access your menu, place an order, and pay for a meal, all from their own mobile device. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool’s premium services.
Our Services
On average, brands see a 108% higher conversion rate with our ordering app. Meet the expectations of today’s digital-first guests by offering seamless checkout, digital wallet support, and industry-high authorization rates. Ensure payments are processed securely and stay ahead of sophisticated fraud attacks with Olo Pay’s advanced security features—including integrated machine-learning fraud detection and prevention, compliance with industry regulations, and secure data management. Power business decisions, campaigns, and growth with our Guest Data Platform, purpose-built for restaurants.
Finally, the ‘rails’ offering is all about allowing restaurants to plug-in software provided from other companies into the Olo platform, such as food delivery companies, so they can still use the platform while receiving orders from third-parties. Scale and protect your digital business with our comprehensive payment platform, proven to drive sales, reduce fraud, and simplify payment processes. Offer Borderless checkout, mobile wallets, and card-on-file support for added convenience. Easily manage payments at scale using the same platform as your digital ecosystem.Olo Pay works on your behalf to drive direct digital sales, prevent fraud, and streamline day-to-day payment processes.
