VenuesNow (06/17/21) Muret, Don

Major League Baseball (MLB) concessionaires have seen enormous increases in food and drink per caps over the first two months of baseball season, while mobile ordering's performance is tied to specific markets. Levy's Ron Lee, for example, said per caps have exploded 59% over the 2019 season for Los Angeles Dodgers games, while in 2020 MLB played a truncated 60-game season in empty ballparks. Lee mainly credited the surge to going cashless, adding sales tax on top rather than including it in listed prices, setting up more grab-and-go locations with package beer and upselling souvenir cups. Aramark's Tim Witkowski said the higher per cap average extends to merchandise sales at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, with lengthier peaks observed during the busiest times of the game for fans buying concessions. Meanwhile, mobile ordering continues to struggle in certain markets, whether due to the technology itself or fulfillment challenges as food providers contend with the high volume of orders. Legends teamed with Uber Eats as part of its mobile ordering program, with food stands at Yankee Stadium transitioning to a hybrid traditional-mobile ordering model that Legends' Richard Porteus called effective. He said stored-value tickets loaded with credit to purchase food and drink, and the pre-purchasing model overall, helps Legends better gauge ordering trends. Meanwhile, labor shortages are proving to be a consistent burden for all vendors.

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