QuikTrip’s QT Kitchens Testing Delivery

TULSA, Okla. — QuikTrip Corp. is the next convenience store player hopping on the delivery bandwagon.

The Oklahoma-based operator is testing delivery through Uber Eats at four c-stores across Tulsa, reported News on 6. Test locations include: 51st and Mingo; I-44 and Harvard; Admiral and Yale; and 61st and Aspen.

Uber Eats is a branch of the ride-sharing app Uber. It partners with restaurants and allows customers to order and pay from participating locations via the mobile app. Orders then are delivered to customers’ desired location.

QuikTrip is joining other c-store retailers like 7-Eleven Inc. and Wawa Inc. with a delivery service. Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven recently announced it’s testing on-demand ordering for delivery or in-store pickup with its new 7-ElevenNOW smartphone app. The service is currently available for 10 uptown and downtown locations in Dallas.

Then, last month, Wawa expanded its delivery service partnership with Grubhub to select locations in New Jersey. The service is available at c-stores in Philadelphia, Bethlehem and Ardmore, Pa. Wawa launched the pilot program with Grubhub, an online and mobile food-ordering company, in September, as CSNews Online previously reported.

The convenience channel is stepping up its delivery game, as fast-food competitors like McDonald’s step up theirs. By the end of June 2017, McDonald’s Corp. offered delivery at more than 3,500 restaurants in the U.S. This more than doubled the number of locations at which delivery was previously available. The fast food chain already has established delivery services in Asia and the Middle East.

Tusla-based QuikTrip operates more than 700 c-stores across 11 states.