E-Business Applications in McDonald's: A Comprehensive Analysis

This essay explores McDonald's adoption of e-business applications, focusing on strategies like online platforms, mobile applications, and delivery services such as UberEats. It examines how these applications have impacted the company's marketing, customer experience, and overall market share. The essay also addresses challenges such as ensuring food freshness and security concerns, and provides recommendations for improving McDonald's e-business strategy, including better customer targeting and stronger security measures. The analysis emphasizes the importance of balancing e-business with traditional brick-and-mortar strategies to cater to diverse customer preferences and technological skills.

E-Business Application 1
E-Business Applications
by [Name]
Course
Professor’s Name
Institution
Location of Institution
Date

E-Business Application 2
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Body............................................................................................................................................................3
Recommendations and conclusion..............................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................9

E-Business Application 3
E-Business Applications
Introduction
According to Jing (2014, p. 79), the restaurant industry transforming through radical
changes that have been influenced by technology, and various companies such as McDonalds to
adopt the transformations. McDonalds is one of the largest fast food retailers, dealing with
different types of products. Over the past years, retail businesses, including McDonalds have
been focusing on moving from being motor and brick focused to emphasizing on online business
(Varinder 2016, p. 78). Although the article, Marc asserts that there are numerous advantages of
being brick and motor, such as allowing customers to have interactions when they visit the
stores, retails shops that have ventured on e-business have reported various advantages, although
some of them have not been able to adapt to this strategy due to various reasons.
Body
Currently, McDonalds operates in different countries and has established different
platforms that enable it to conduct its E-commerce business. Through the introduction of these
platforms, the company has reported various advantages such as reducing operational costs and
succeeding in some of the key factors such as the supply chain.
Just like the video asserts, the usage of smartphones has been gaining popularity and
therefore consumers have shifted their interest from their physical buying to ordering them
through online platforms (Stephen 2012, p. 97). Being one of the companies that are focused on
identifying changes in consumer perception and implementing strategies that can address those
changes, McDonalds is striving to ensure that while allowing the consumers to visit the stores for
purchases, it also gives opportunity to those who like engaging in online business.

E-Business Application 4
According to Liang & Clyde (2013, p. 68), one of the areas where McDonalds has
realized success through the use of online platforms is its marketing. Apart from using E-
business to allow the customers to view products and their prices, this company has also been
using its E-commerce strategy to advertise its current and new products. This factor has enabled
this company to enhance the popularity of its products without incurring huge costs.
According to Peng & Yijun (2014, p. 56), the company’s most recent adoption into tech
is delivery. With high demand for E-business due to high adoption of smartphones and internet,
the company has realized that most some of its consumers prefer goods being delivered to them
and has therefore introduced a new platform known as UberEats. According to Paromita & Joel
(2016, p. 24), delivery helps in attracting new consumers to the company and brings back those
who may have changed their loyalty. This is also termed as a strategy to ensure the company
wins over consumers who seek convenience in an increasingly fast-paced world.
Doug, in the article, affirms that everything in retail is changing and mobile is termed the
primary accelerant on the fire of this change. Due to the great increase in the use of cell phones
in most of the areas where McDonalds operates, the company has realized that there is an
opportunity for increasing the flow of its products through E-business. The company has also
noticed that its competitors have realized this opportunity, and most of them have embraced the
use of E-business in their operations to ensure they expand their market share.
In its operations, this company has been focusing on establishing various digital
innovations to ensure that its consumers get the best experience. To make ordering process
simpler, it has introduced a mobile application with different innovative geo-fencing capabilities
that help in determining when the consumer is approaching the restaurant, a strategy aimed at
ensuring the customer finds the food as fresh as possible. The application also allows mobile

E-Business Application 5
payments and lets the clients to get their food without having to queue or wasting their time at
the drive-through.
Hyma (2015, p. 22) asserts that this company has been enhancing its customer experience
through the use of McDonald’s delivery with uberEats. Since the establishment of this strategy,
the company has enhanced convenience for its customers and is also transforming McDonald’s
experience. Through the ease of the UnberEats app, its customers enjoy their favorite
McDonald’s foods being delivered to them as they enjoy greater choice, control as well as
personalization.
As E-business continues to transform the retail sector, McDonald is finding this business
operation strategy as one which can assist it to expand its market share because it assists it to
target customers in different locations to not only attain their favorite goods but also to know
some of the important things concerning the company. Although marc, from the article, affirms
that Mortar and brick strategy promotes customer socialization when they visit the stores, the use
of E-business has helped in putting the company closer to its customers because it allows not
only ordering and delivery of products but also encourages communications.
Although this company is greatly focusing on the use of E-commerce in its operations,
there are various things that have come along with this strategy. For example, in most cases,
customers have complained of being delivered food which is not fresh or one which is
contaminated. This has significantly affected this business strategy because it has made it to lose
its loyal customers. Mahesh (2010, p. 214) affirms that customers like being associated with
organizations which give them full satisfaction, and also ones which care about their health. This
means that when they get products or services which do not satisfy them, they can purchase the
products from alternative companies.

E-Business Application 6
Although the video affirms that the widespread acceptance of smartphones have made
people to adopt online purchase, the skills and knowledge in the usage of these gadgets vary
from one person to the other and therefore introduction of various applications has made various
consumers to be left out. This means that although the company wants to thrive in E-commerce
while still encouraging physical buying, its brick and motor strategy will still remain essential to
the company.
According to Hussein (2010, p. 57), one of the disadvantages of E-business is that it puts
organizations to the threat of cybercrime. While the company finds various advantages of using
various online platforms to conduct its business, it poses a threat to the organization in the fact
that the transactions can be hacked and make the company to lose a lot of money.
Recommendations and conclusion
To thrive in E-business, this company should come up with proper ways of targeting its
customers. From the nature of its operations using this strategy, it appears that the company does
not fully understand some of the key factors that differentiate its customers (Yessica 2012, p.
57). For example, it does not consider that people have various skills in the use of
technologically related devices. For it to succeed, it should come up with proper ways of
ensuring those with high and low skills in the use of E-commerce are benefited.
It is also essential for this company to ensure that it implements strong security measures
in its online platforms (Stephen 2012, p. 96). This is because when operations go online, a
company becomes prone to hackers who can interfere with various processes which can make
the organization to lose a lot of money. Some of the measures which McDonalds should
consider, in this case, include, ensuring the online platforms are developed by professionals and
regularly monitored to ensure everything works in the right manner. It is also essential to ensure

E-Business Application 7
that the customers use strong usernames and password to ensure that their accounts cannot be
used by third parties in case they misplace or loss their gadgets.
In some incidences using E-business can be frustrating especially when the customers are
not able to log in due to technical glitches. For this company to avoid such frustrations, it is
essential to ensure that the platforms are maintained and regularly monitored to ensure nothing
can prevent the customers from accessing whatever they require. Considering this aspect is
essential because according to Edward (2010, p. 68), customers like being associated with
organizations which give them good experience, and therefore if they are not able to get what
they require because of something which should have been prevented by the company from
happening, they can shift their loyalty to alternative organizations.
Despite of many conveniences which McDonalds have realized through the use of E-
business, there are various things that this platform cannot do, like for instance, there are some of
the products in its line of production which cannot be bought online (Yessica 2012, p. 54).
Therefore, while valuing it in its operations, it is important not to underrate its brick and motor
strategy because it helps in covering some of the things that the online strategy cannot do.
From marc’s assertions from the article, physical purchase promotes social interactions of
consumers and therefore makes them to revisit the stores from time to time. Being a company
that deals with fast food products, some of the consumers prefer taking the meals from the stores
than having them delivered to their homes (Varinder & Brij 2012, p. 57). This means that it is
important to use E-business as an alternative for those who like ordering the products and not an
option of replacing its brick and motor strategy

E-Business Application 8
From this analysis, it is clear that McDonalds has been valuing E-business in its
operations because of various benefits such as increased sales and delivering the products at the
consumers’ convenience. With the increased usage of smartphones, the demand for online
ordering and delivery of products has increased and therefore this has created an opportunity for
retail stores such as McDonalds to use E-commerce in their operations
Although this company has realized various advantages through the use of E-business in
its operations, there are various things that it needs to consider to ensure it fully benefits from
this strategy. For example, it needs to come up with proper targeting to ensure the strategy
benefits both those with skills and those who lack proper knowledge in the use of technology
related gadgets. The company should also ensure that its online platforms are equipped with
proper security measures to ensure third parties cannot access confidential information.

E-Business Application 9
References
Achyut, T 2016, Keep Calm and Carry On: A Crisis Communication Study of Cadbury
and McDonalds, Management & Marketing, vol. 11 no.1, pp.76-98.
Edward, CT 2010, Adopting E-Business in Small and Medium Enterprise, Communications of
the IIMA, vol. 10. No. 2, pp. 67-98.
Hussein, F 2010, A Fuzzy Logic Based Decision Support System for Business Situation
Assessment and E-Business Models Selection, Communications of the IIMA, vol. 10 no. 4, pp.
54-76.
Hyma, G 2015, A Preliminary Study of First-Mover Advantage among E-Commerce Companies
in India, IUP Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 21-32
Jing, W 2014, Opportunities and Challenges of International E-Commerce in the Pilot Areas of
China. International Journal of Marketing Studies, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 78-80
Liang, C & Clyde, HW 2013, E-Business Adoption Research: State of the Art, Journal of
Electronic Commerce Research, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 67-89.
Mahesh, G 2010, The Enabling Role of E-Business Technologies in Strategic Operations
Management, Journal of International Technology and Information Management, vol. 19, no. 2,
pp. 213-232.
Paromita, B & Joel, M 2016, Analyzing Digital Collections Entrances: What Gets Used and Why
It Matters. Information Technology and Libraries, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 23-25
Peng, Z & Yijun, XR 2014, How Investors Value Industrial Policies for E-Business Firms in
Emerging Markets, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, pp. 56-78.

E-Business Application 10
Stephen, EB 2012, The Legal Environment of Romanian E-Commerce: A Critical Analysis and
Recommendations for Improvement, Economics, Management, and Financial Markets, vol.7
no. 4, pp. 90-99
Varinder, S & Brij, MS 2012, Enhancement of Commitment in the Export Management
Company Supplier Relationship through E-Business, Indian Journal of Economics and Business,
vol. 112, 46-78.
Yessica, H 2012, E-Business Models as a Tool to Increase México Small and Medium Size
Enterprises' Sales, Global Journal of Business Research, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 52-69.

E-Business Application 11
Appendix A
The effeteness of e-business on fast food retailers
A survey conducted in 2018 indicated that although various fast food retailers have tried
to embrace e-business in their operations. Few of the success rate have not been positive for all
because of various reasons. For instance, consumers argue that sometimes ordering foods and
letting it to be delivered makes them to consume contaminated products and therefore prefer
undertaking physical buying.
The various perceptions that consumers have toward e-commerce in food retailers have
made various companies such as McDonalds to realize challenges in implementing this strategy
because irrespective of spending a lot of time to come up with the platforms, sometimes thy are
assumed by consumers. Various researchers have also identified that irrespective of the
perception which people have towards e-business such as lack of confidentiality, with time it
shall change and make e-business an important tool in the retail sector.