Foursquare is attempting to regain its footing as a popular local discovery application by enabling users to purchase groceries, food and alcohol, thanks to a partnership with ordering platform delivery.com.

Following a decline in popularity in recent years, Foursquare is ramping up to reinvent itself as a millennial-friendly mobile app by implementing food delivery capabilities into its system, allowing consumers to discover new restaurants in their vicinity. The integration bodes well for both companies involved, as Foursquare will feature a wider variety of purchasing tools while delivery.com will enjoy exposure to a broader audience.

“Delivery.com’s partnership with Foursquare is a smart move for two reasons,” said Stephen Golub, vice president of DXagency, Edgewater, NJ. “One, it provides a new point of introduction/access for delivery.com among Foursquare users who have not yet heard of, downloaded, or used the app before.

“As with all apps, getting the initial download/first use is of the utmost importance, and this partnership will provide free exposure and impressions for delivery.com which should result in an increase in downloads and subsequent sales,” he said. “Two, the partnership is a strong defensive play.

“Delivery.com has a few serious competitors, most notably Seamless. By partnering with Foursquare, this allows delivery.com to capitalize on Foursquare’s user base while also blocking Seamless from a possible integration.”

Inviting new experiences
Mobile commerce platform Button is facilitating the integration, which is said to offer new consumer experiences for the millions of customers delivery.com already serves. Meanwhile, current Foursquare users will receive access to a slew of delivery options, which may come in handy when exploring a new city or area.

Both brands believe that the integration will give way to a wide audience of consumers with high intent to purchase. The partnership taps into Button’s DeepLink Commerce Technology to allow cross-functionality between Foursquare and delivery.com.

Consumers will now be able to order food in a streamlined manner, which will likely result in more sales being made.

When Foursquare users discover intriguing restaurants in their neighboring area, they can view delivery.com’s merchant data while still in the app, thereby giving them more ordering options. If they are interested in purchasing meals from a specific merchant, they can switch to the delivery.com menu screen with a single tap.

If consumers are new to delivery.com’s platform, they will be asked to install its app before completing the cross-app transaction.

Foursquare may gain a plethora of new users by allowing individuals to fast-track relevant actions. In turn, delivery.com could experience an uptick in app downloads from Foursquare fans who come across its capabilities and find them easy-to-use.

Market-specific services
Another added benefit for Foursquare is the valuable data on consumer purchasing behavior it will glean from delivery.com.

Foursquare’s new president said at Mobile Marketer’s Mobile FirstLook: Strategy 2016 that this year will see marketers scale up their use of mobile data to target consumers based on their activities in the physical world (see story).

As location-based services continue gaining traction among mobile users, consumers will expect to see more relevant, targeted offers reach their smartphones, especially when it comes to something as personal as food.

Consequently, delivery.com and Foursquare’s partnership could prompt other online ordering platforms to seek out collaborations with discovery apps.

“Moving forward, the landscape will become competitive between the food ordering platforms to partner with location-based apps and grow their subscriber numbers,” Mr. Golub said. “As the technological middlemen between consumers and restaurants, liquor stores, groceries, etc. delivery services are all about user numbers.

“Any deals that can result in increased subscribers should prove to be worthwhile.”