7-Eleven hears the call for fast delivery

A convenience store giant is enabling its delivery app for voice ordering.

7-Eleven is continuing to expand the functionality of its 7Now on-demand delivery app with the launch of 7Voice. This new feature enables customers to place a mobile order via the voice-controlled Google Home and Amazon Echo systems.

With a voice command, shoppers can instruct a Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice device to open the 7Now delivery app. Items that can be ordered include beverages, fresh and hot foods, snacks, cosmetics, home goods, and thousands of other products. Once customers place and pay for a 7Now voice order, the selected items are delivered in about 30 minutes or less. No minimum order is required, and the service is available 24/7. Delivery for the first 7Now order is free, and the regular delivery fee is $3.99.

7-Eleven introduced on-demand ordering and delivery in late 2017 when it began testing the app-based 7Now service at select stores in Dallas. The 7Now app auto-locates customer's location and places the order at the nearest participating 7-Eleven store. A courier will pick up the order and deliver it to the specified address in 30 minutes or less. Using real-time tracking, 7-Eleven can let customers know when to expect their orders. Today, 7Now is available in 34 major metropolitan areas, with more than 200 cities and serving more than 23 million households. 

In June 2019, the retailer began offering 7Now Pins, on-demand delivery technology that allows users to order products to locales such parks, beaches, sports fields, and entertainment venues. The proprietary hot spot technology was developed in house by the 7-Eleven digital team and has added more than 2,000 7Now Pins, or hot spots, to the 7Now delivery app.

"We continuously challenge ourselves to find even more ways to offer convenience and value to our customers, when and where people need it most," said Raghu Mahadevan, 7-Eleven VP of digital and delivery. "7Voice takes 7Now ordering from screen to voice, enabling customers to order in whatever way they prefer that is most convenient to them."

Based in Irving, Texas, 7 Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 11,800 stores in North America