McDonald's reveals its secret weapon to record sales during the coronavirus pandemic as they cash in on locked down Australians
- McDonald's capitalised on the COVID-19 lockdown by doubling online orders
- Chain said delivery orders as percentage of sales grew from five to 10 per cent
- Success in delivery market led the company to launch in-house online service
- Company said Australian arm boosted by restaurants staying open during crisis
McDonald's has capitalised on the coronavirus pandemic in Australia by doubling its online orders.
The local arm of the burger chain was singled out in the company's June update for being in one of the few countries where the company is actually exceeding sales from last year.
McDonald's said online delivery orders in Australia make up 10 per cent of its sales, compared with five per cent before the coronavirus crisis began.
The company's success in the delivery market through third-party party providers like Uber Eats and Deliveroo has prompted McDonald's to launch its own in-house delivery service focusing on regional areas.
A food delivery woman in a mask pictured in Sydney. McDonald's has announced national online delivery orders have increased from five to 10 per cent during the crisis as Australians are confined to their homes
McDonald's Australia chief executive Andrew Gregory said the aim of the service was to provide access to customers who live in towns not covered by companies such as Uber Eats.
The partnership with Menulog was announced in April and covers more than 60 restaurants including Dubbo and Bathurst in regional New South Wales and Colac west of Melbourne.
'Online delivery was about 5 per cent of our business before COVID-19 and already a strong part of our business with 600 restaurants,' Mr Gregory told The Australian.
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'I think what we recognised straight away, as trends were accelerated during COVID-19, was delivery.
McDonald's has recently expanded to more than 900 restaurants nationally and Mr Gregory said the in-house delivery was an example of the chain being 'agile' in finding holes in the market.
Company executives said last week its Australian arm had strong sales through both drive-through and delivery performance in May and June.
McDonald's has launched its own in-house delivery service focusing on regional areas. Pictured is a McDonald's sign in Maryborough, north-west of Melbourne
Australia - along with Canada and the US - was one of the few markets where restaurants stayed open throughout the pandemic, McDonald's Corporation CEO Chris Kempczinski said.
Of the chain's 39,000 restaurants worldwide, 96 per cent are now open, compared with 75 per cent at the start of the second quarter.
Comparable-store sales that were down 39 per cent in April were down only 12 per cent by June.
The recovery is uneven though as stores with drive-through windows are recovering more quickly as customers try to limit contact, the company said.
