Food delivery service Careem Now has expanded to Makkah, where its 1.5 million population can order from over 100 restaurants including McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins, with more outlets to be added on a weekly basis.
The delivery app, a subsidiary of ride-hailing app Careem, is already operational in Jeddah and Riyadh.
Users can log in to the separate Careem Now app with their existing Careem credentials, while their registered credit card details and saved addresses will also be automatically linked.
Adeeb Warsi, managing director of Careem Now, said: “The idea of having to call up a restaurant and read out a list of items, and hope it’s all written down correctly, are increasingly over – ordering by app is how the industry is moving. The younger generations are driving digital ordering – which in the US is growing three times faster than dine-in traffic – and it’s now increasingly available in the Middle East.”
Adeeb Warsi, managing director of Careem NOW
Similarly to other delivery apps, Careem Now allows users to request previous orders and follow the arrival of their food in real time on an interactive map. It connects users with nearby restaurants and offers curated collections and extensive search options.
Expanding services
As for tech company Careem, it is expanding services to include mass transportation, delivery, and payments. Established in July 2012, it operates in over 100 cities across 14 countries and has created more than one million job opportunities in the region.
The company is set to be acquired by US ride-hailing giant Uber for $3.1bn in Q1 2020.
Last week, Careem and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced the launch of their joint venture Hala, a taxi e-hailing service in Dubai, in September, whereby 50 percent of RTA’s taxi fleet will be bookable on the Careem app.
Hala started a trial for Dubai Taxis in May on 2,000 vehicles for which rides were booked using the Careem app. The service saw substantial growth over a number of weeks, with it being rated at no less than 4 out of 5 stars.
The estimated time of arrival reached an average of 4.5 minutes versus previous average of 12-14 minutes, aiming to reach an ETA of 3 minutes in September.
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