Grubhub struck a deal with Amazon for the e-commerce giant to offer Prime users in the US a one-year membership to its food delivery service. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon is offering Prime members free Grubhub subscriptions in its latest effort to sweeten the perks of the $139-a-year loyalty program.
The e-commerce giant previously gave Prime members a yearlong subscription to Grubhub, which includes free delivery on orders over $12. The deal announced Thursday makes the food-delivery service a permanent fixture of Amazon’s membership program. As part of the move, people without Prime can also place Grubhub orders directly through Amazon’s website and mobile app.
Amazon has steadily added to its stable of Prime benefits in recent years as it looks to attract and retain members, while facing growing competition from Walmart and Target‘s loyalty programs. The company has added discounted One Medical memberships to the program, alongside existing perks like fast shipping and video streaming.
Amazon in July 2022 secured the rights to take a 2% stake in Grubhub, the U.S. subsidiary of Just Eat Takeaway.com, with the option to increase its stake to 15% if it met certain performance factors, such as the new number of customers added.
Just Eat said in a separate release on Thursday that Amazon has received warrants representing a 4% stake in Grubhub. As part of a new five-year agreement, Amazon will receive options for another 4% stake in Grubhub and may also receive warrants for up to 10% of Grubhub’s equity depending on performance conditions.
Amazon once operated a food-delivery service that competed with companies like Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash. It launched Amazon Restaurants in 2015, allowing Prime members to order meals from local restaurants, which were then delivered by its fleet of drivers.
The company shuttered Amazon Restaurants four years later to focus on grocery delivery. It has grown its selection of nonperishable items and pantry staples available through its site. In addition, Amazon offers online ordering from its Whole Foods and Fresh supermarkets.