Hungry Just Eat customers shun desktops for mobile apps
During the first half of 2014, Just Eat's revenues were £69.8 million and 56 percent of orders were made via a smartphone or tablet.
That percentage has increased, according to Matt Hobbs, mobile product lead at Just Eat, who believes customers are looking to order their food via the most convenient way possible.
The London-based food delivery firm aims to make it as easy as possible for people to order whatever it is they want to eat. Customers can order from their PC (via the Just Eat website) or through the JustEat mobile app, which is now available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
"Most, if not all, services across the web are moving to an 'on demand' culture and, with some great apps, we're well positioned to take advantage of this," said Hobbs.
Hobbs was unable to specify exactly what percentage of Just Eat's orders are now made via mobile because the company is due to announce its annual results in a few weeks time.
Wearables
Just Eat has also been looking at how it will allow hungry takeaway enthusiasts to order food from wearable devices.
Hobbs said he and his team have been experimenting with a range of wearable devices, including Google Glass, which is currently in hibernation.
"I got to play with Google Glass, which is a fun piece of technology and we'll have to see where Google go with that next," he said. "I think they'll have some great learnings to move on from.
"It was hard to imagine people walking around using Google Glass but for us I think it was quite interesting, we were bouncing around some ideas at hackathons around restaurant usage.
"I've got a Moto 360 watch which I think is absolutely awesome. I'm looking forward to playing around with the Apple Watch very soon."
Developers
Just Eat today employs close to 100 engineers and the majority of Hobbs' team is based in London in an office situated between St Paul's and Chancery Lane. Several engineers are also located at Just Eat's research and development centre in Bristol, which opened last July.
Hobbs said he is currently hiring more mobile developers as the company looks to further improve its cross-platform apps.
Just Eat, which has more than 36,000 restaurants on its books, makes its money by charging nearly 11 percent commission for each delivery ordered over its platform, of which there were 40 million last year, worth an average of £2.11 per order.
The company raised £1.47 billion last year when it went public, becoming the first company to list on the London Stock Exchange's new High Growth Segment at the same time.
Residents in 13 countries can now order food over Just Eat's platform after the company bought Mexican food delivery service SinDelantel earlier this month, in a bid to expand into the Central and South American markets.