GoMobo

NY-based GoMobo recently signed a test partnership with the WaWa chain of convenience stores. WaWa is similar to BP, QT and 7-11. We've written about GoMobo before including naming them as one of three products that will change 2008. The GoMobo-WaWa test has taken place in the Pennsylvania cities of Malvern, Media and Philadelphia and they plan to expand the test to four additional cities in Pennsylvania shortly. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but GoMobo did share that their typical fee is 10% of all orders.

Howard Stoeckel, WaWa's CEO, said testing online and text ordering is part of an initiative to increase the frequency with which customers buy deli foods and the amount they spend while doing so. The effort also entails a “Dinner Deals” promotion that discounts featured foods, he indicated.

So the next time you want a slushy or a large pop, you might just try ordering on your mobile on your way there. It will be interesting to see how this affects sales. I find in the 7-11, I always pick up something extra as I wander the store - will these impulse purchases be eliminated if the customer orders their hot dog and coke before they get to the store and it's waiting near the register for them?

We review tons of products and services on CN, over 1,000 in the past year. Most are good to very good, but some just wow us when we check them out. I'd like to share three that have come across our radar in the last month that are game changers and should be very, very successful -- and two of them are NY-based, the other calls Boston home.

Part of what will lead to the success is the distribution deals each one has already signed. As Marc Andreessen has said many times, distribution is the key.

check out the products! »

Will mobile food ordering become the newest way that we use our mobile devices? If mobile food ordering works, it could be a huge time saver. Instead of waiting in line to order and hoping that the clerk gets your order right, you just zap it over to the establishment using your mobile and then pick up your order when you arrive. For those on lunch breaks that are timed, this could be a way to get back precious minutes. We've also seen national pizza chains Pizza Hut and Papa John's enter the mobile order space in the last month.

Here in NYC, I've been using SeamlessWeb a good bit and back in Atlanta I found myself using CampusFood regularly though neither one offers a mobile option. I spoke with two companies in the mobile food space who have different approaches: GetQuik and GoMobo. Come inside for my notes from both conversations »

Tonight was the January 2008 edition of the NY Tech Meetup. Six companies took to the stage, my comments and videos are below. I am quite disappointed that neither leader Scott nor his assistant replied either here on CN or in the mailing list to the ideas I raised. Oh well I guess. I've decided to provide my raw notes and immediate feedback on each startup that presented.