
Taco Bell drops website, goes app-only - brbcoding
http://www.tacobell.com/home
======
crazypyro
[http://www.tacobell.com/Company/newsreleases/Taco-Bell-
Mobil...](http://www.tacobell.com/Company/newsreleases/Taco-Bell-Mobile-app)

Found the press release on their website (which isn't actually dropped I
think). The press release makes it seem like its a temporary blackout on all
Taco Bell social media. It doesn't specifically mention dropping the website
permanently.

Appears to be a big publicity stunt that means very little except Taco Bell
has a new mobile ordering app.

Excerpt:

"Today, Taco Bell’s highly followed social media platforms – including
Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram – have gone dark, revealing the new
way to Taco Bell is #onlyintheapp. While silent, each social media platform,
as well as tacobell.com, will provide only a disruptive message and link to
download the new app -- with all previous content removed. Consumers with the
previous Taco Bell mobile app will receive an update for the new mobile
ordering app."

------
andrewstuart2
Looks like somebody forgot to tell the rest of the site.

[http://www.tacobell.com/food/tacos](http://www.tacobell.com/food/tacos)

~~~
kristofferR
It's weird that they use the exact same color scheme as the JackInTheBox weed
food specials.

[http://jacksmunchiemeal.com](http://jacksmunchiemeal.com)

~~~
eclipxe
Product-market-fit

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bhups
What do they aim to gain from this? All I see is that Windows Phone and
BlackBerry users now have no way of accessing Taco Bell's online presence.

~~~
jackmaney
There are dozens of them! DOZENS!!1!

~~~
numo16
One of the dozen checking in. The taco bell drive-thru person that gave me the
whole spiel this morning was confused when I asked if they had an app for
windows phone.

------
Stratoscope
> The new way to Taco Bell isn't on the Internet

> It's #onlyintheapp

Well, that's a relief. I'm glad to hear their app doesn't use the Internet.

------
_nickwhite
I don't eat at Taco Bell. But even if I did I wouldn't want their stupid app
on my phone. Also, the app likely gives them additional access to _you_ which
they didn't have using the website alone. This is really bad for consumers.

~~~
dpcan
Just thought I'd take a look at the app on Google Play. At the time of writing
this post, the Android version appears to needs access to:

\- Contacts/Calendar

\- Location

\- Phone

\- Photos/Media/Files

\- Wi-Fi Connection Information

\- Device ID & Call Information

~~~
lovelearning
Horrible! Install...View permissions...Whoa! no way...Cancel. One less pesky
customer to bother about.

I've seen it happen too often - apps that don't really require access to
contacts or call information, still ask for them. The Android permission
system is of course broken, but there's a lot of developer laziness too.

~~~
dpcan
A lot of times, with games, the permissions are added because the ad network
tells you to include them. Lots of ad networks will work just fine with just
the Internet requirement though, which are the ones I prefer when I go the ad-
route.

------
jtokoph
So anyone that isn't on iOS or Android can't view any information about Taco
Bell?

~~~
numo16
you can, but you have to navigate directly to a page like
tacobell.com/food/tacos to get around it

------
ninov
Am I the only one who's seeing that bad JPEG compression on these app download
buttons?

~~~
RobLach
First thing I noticed...

------
claar
While I believe this is a short-lived marketing ploy, the only reason I go to
a fast food website is to look-up nutritional information.

Thankfully, every calorie-counter website/app out there has it built in for
every restaurant.

edit: Looks like it's currently just their home page anyway:
[http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/](http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/) works
fine.

------
kyboren
It seems they decided to skimp on hiring a web design firm and their marketing
department thought they could spin it to seem 'hip'.

Idiots.

------
schnable
That is really annoying.

~~~
jerf
Why?

Most likely followup question: Exactly how many hours have you spent on the
Taco Bell website in the past year, anyhow? Why would you spend any time
there?

(If it weren't for the XBox One giveaway I'd expect the average answer to the
first question to be indistinguishable from zero for everyone reading this.)

Argh, I forgot my "HN is a big website and I'm sure there's a dozen people who
will pop up and say they do" disclaimer. Yes, hello down there... but you are
the _exceptions_ , and frankly I still don't believe most of you popping up to
post something aren't just being contrary anyhow. (Nutritional data I'll
believe, but a mobile app will be better at that anyhow! I too have tried to
use websites to get nutrition info... I've only only found one that was any
good at their mobile experience.) To a first approximation, nobody uses the
Taco Bell website for any significant amount of time.

~~~
bigtunacan
Type 1 diabetic here; Anytime I eat out I check to see if there is a website
with carbohydrate counts so I can use the proper amount of insulin. Usually
it's something like this...

Google Search -> How many carbohydrates in Taco Bell 7 layer burrito -> I'm
feeling lucky -> Taco Bell's website with nutritional information.

Many restaurants if you ask at the establishment do not have this information,
but it is typically available through their corporate websites.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Why do you use a website instead of a calorie counting app with the data built
in?

~~~
nknighthb
As someone who has tried to use such apps to actually count calories, unless
you've got a barcode, finding the right thing, especially for fast food, is a
massive PITA, and they're not always up-to-date. Websites are way faster and
more reliable.

~~~
bigtunacan
Exactly.

------
potench
I would guess that more people probably visited tacobell.com today than on any
other day in its history... and all that traffic is funneled to install Taco
Bell's Android or iOS app. Seems to me like a very clever and successful
campaign to boost app awareness and installs. As a temporary campaign it's
totally brilliant; but the message "#onlyintheapp" is pretty risky as a lot of
people might not "get it" and negatively associate Taco Bell with
technological regression. It's ironic and a little post-modern that the site
hosts a message about it's own non-existence and by doing so becomes the
primary source of downloads for the app.

------
rancor
So, they'd like me to download a 31MB app with "Precise location", "Read
contact data", "Modify or delete USB storage", and "Full network access"
(among others!) so I can order tacos? I'll pass, thanks.

~~~
quasse
Yeah, I watched the demo video and it actually looked like a pretty cool app,
but I'll keep my contacts to myself thanks.

------
gjvc
"Does The Browser Have A Future" by Tim Bray
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pHx_1tlGN0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pHx_1tlGN0)

~~~
jackmaney
Yes. Yes it does, as desktop and laptop computers will also have a future.

------
got2surf
From the meta description tag: the original website was used for 'nutrition
guide, locations, franchise information, and career opportunities'.

While I've never seen anyone actually browse the Taco Bell website, it seems
like they will still need a web presence for hiring and making nutrition
guides available (if not legally, practically). Taco Bell probably doesn't
drive many sales from their website, but I have heard of people applying for
jobs or checking out nutrition info online.

[edit for clarity]

------
robomartin
I don't often eat at Taco Bell, but when I do, I'm just driving by and have no
other choices.

Seriously, what's with wanting to app-ify everything? I can't remember the
last time I visited the websites of any of the fast food joints, much less
used them for ordering or install their app on my phone.

The only websites I have used are from pizza joints because it actually is
easier to order a pizza online than calling someone on the phone.

Do people really use these apps?

As a publicity stunt it could be brilliant.

------
schnable
Is Google going to kill their SERP over this? They would for most sites, but
they make exceptions for major brands being morons.

~~~
swartkrans
Well, you know there's a taco bell in your area because you see it when you
drive by it. I'm not sure they really need a lot of visibility in search
engine result pages. It's not like you're buying tacos over the internet.

And really if taco bell loses search ranking for "taco bell" then the problem
is with Google.

------
pulkitpulkit
Wonder whether there are any cases where it actually DOES make sense to drop
an existing site and move to app only? Guess lots of examples of companies
launching mobile-first or mobile-only solutions (e.g. Sprig) but any examples
of companies making a clear switch away from web?

~~~
oldmanpants
In my opinion, there wouldn't be a good reason. Maybe I can find your app
directly in the app store, but what the 'Web provides is a human readable (and
rememberable) address. Without it, you would need to search the app store or
web search for [specific product/app name] (this assumes I learn about your
product elsewhere and know that the app exists and how to get it).

I myself want to know as much as I can about an app before I download it, so
would always check a website. I dislike ending up on a splash page with
nothing but a screenshot of the app and a link to the app store. So I don't
feel that any app for any device (or any product that you are trying to sell
for that matter) would not benefit from an informative, accessible web
presence. After all, I need to be sold on the idea of downloading the app. I
confess I do prefer web over native app in most cases as a personal
preference.

It is an interesting question, and the one my mind immediately went to upon
seeing this. Because, yeah, I'm not seeing how this is a good idea for Taco
Bell or anyone really. I will keep thinking about it and would be interested
if anyone thinks otherwise.

~~~
pulkitpulkit
I guess the web could still provide information without functionality -- not
too dissimilar to what the taco bell page is doing..?

------
josegonzalez
They also closed their twitter account and reopened it. Seems to have lost all
their followers.

App is not available on android yet (for me), though it does show up in the
Play store autocomplete.

------
TY
And the people who are not on iOS and Android should go where for the storied
company history and nutritional information?

All I see here are free ads for Apple and Google. Good job, Taco Bell :-)

------
jackmaney
Serious question: why would anyone download a Taco Bell app or visit
tacobell.com (either before or after the "app only" transition)?

~~~
doughj3
So anecdotal and probably niche but since you asked: I don't go to Taco Bell
frequently, but every now and then I have a craving. I don't know their menu
well enough to just swing by and order. I use the website to check out that
their deals are, and what's the crazy special of the season (e.g, that taco
with a Doritos shell, or the burrito wrapped in a quesadilla).

A more mainstream use someone else mentioned: nutrition information.

~~~
jackmaney
Fair enough.

------
glxybstr
they seemed to have removed their tweets as well:
[https://twitter.com/tacobell](https://twitter.com/tacobell)

i remember seeing them tweet at customers about their experiences so it's a
bold move - i'd be willing to bet it's temporary to promote this app.

------
Florin_Andrei
That's what the world needs - yet another proprietary app hogging storage
space on phones.

~~~
kyboren
...and with access to your contacts, precise (GPS) location, nearby WiFi
access points, camera, phone number, the ability to silently install packages
(!) and prevent sleep, and with full network access[1].

Yup, just what the world needs.

[1]: [http://www.appbrain.com/app/taco-bell-mobile-
app/com.medlmob...](http://www.appbrain.com/app/taco-bell-mobile-
app/com.medlmobile.tacobell).

------
coryfklein
Looks like this publicity stunt worked.

------
stefek99
That's a very bold statement, must have required a lot of 'balls' to make such
decision.

------
hansy
Taco Bell had a website?

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notastartup
I don't see how this helps them. Was this an attempt at a viral campaign? Sort
of like, hey look at us, we got rid of clothes because like, they were
annoying.

~~~
erok
Yes.

------
bigtunacan
Stupid, stupid, stupid.

One more reason, other than their food tasting like crap, why I won't be
eating there anytime soon.

~~~
rrradical
I'm not a taco bell fan either, but presumably we aren't their target market,
so they don't care what we think-- nor should they. It's only stupid if their
target market thinks so, right?

(Edit: I don't want to imply that you're not allowed to criticize their
decision. I just don't think it should be judged based on how well it works
for people that have no interest in being a customer.)

~~~
bigtunacan
See my other post in here about the reason WHY this impacts me and how they
have just lost a customer. I'm not a big fan of Taco Bell; but would eat there
occasionally since they are open later than most places in my area.

~~~
rrradical
That's a fair point. Just a shot in the dark, but maybe their calculus is--
they will lose some customers, but for the customers they get to download the
app, they'll get a lot more engagement / repeat visits through push
notifications or other spam, or just an easier ordering system.

It sounds stupid to me also, but I'm trying to assume that whoever's in charge
there knows what they're doing. I guess that might not be the case though.

