Grubhub Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the "Company," "Grubhub," "we," "us," and "our") is the nation's leading online and mobile platform for restaurant pick-up and delivery orders, which the Company refers to as takeout. The Company connects more than 105,000 local restaurants with hungry diners in thousands of cities across the United States and is focused on transforming the takeout experience. For restaurants, Grubhub generates higher margin takeout orders at full menu prices. The Grubhub platform empowers diners with a "direct line" into the kitchen, avoiding the inefficiencies, inaccuracies and frustrations associated with paper menus and phone orders. The Company has a powerful takeout marketplace that creates additional value for both restaurants and diners as it grows. The Company's takeout marketplace, and related platforms where the Company provides marketing services to generate orders, are collectively referred to as the "Platform".
For restaurants, takeout enables them to grow their business without adding seating capacity or wait staff. Advertising for takeout, typically done through the distribution of menus to local households or advertisements in local publications, is often inefficient and requires upfront payment with no certainty of success. In contrast, Grubhub provides restaurants on its Platform with an efficient way to generate more takeout orders. Grubhub enables restaurants to access local diners at the moment when those diners are hungry and ready to purchase takeout. In addition, the Company does not charge the restaurants on its Platform any upfront or subscription fees, does not require any discounts from their full price menus and only gets paid for the orders the Company generates for them, providing restaurants with a low-risk, high-return solution. The Company charges restaurants on the Platform a per-order commission that is primarily percentage-based. In many markets, the Company also provides delivery services to restaurants on its Platform that do not have their own delivery operations. As of December 31, 2018, the Company was providing delivery services in more than 300 of the largest core-based statistical areas across the country.
For diners, the traditional takeout ordering process is often a frustrating experience-from using paper menus to communicating an order by phone to a busy restaurant employee. In contrast, ordering on Grubhub is enjoyable and a dramatic improvement over the "menu drawer." The Company provides diners on the platform with an easy-to-use, intuitive and personalized interface that helps them search for and discover local restaurants and then accurately and efficiently place an order from any Internet-connected device. Grubhub also provides diners with information and transparency about their orders and status and solves problems that may arise. In addition, the Company makes re-ordering convenient by storing previous orders, preferences and payment information, helping to promote diner frequency and drive strong repeat business.