The latest update to the Uber Eats app will make one thing obvious to consumers: Uber Eats wants to expand beyond delivering pizza, tacos and noodles to also deliver flowers, pet supplies, convenience items and one-of-a-kind finds in stores. shops. local stores.
“This is Eats entering its next chapter of maturity,” said Daniel Danker, head of product for Uber Eats.
In addition to introducing stores of all kinds, Uber Eats is rolling out new features that provide consumers with personalized landing pages based on their purchase history and preferences and provide them with more information about local restaurants, such as their ratings or whether they allow pickup. Users will also be able to place orders at various restaurants or couple a food order with the purchase of other items and receive everything within the same delivery.
The change comes as more consumers turn to delivery services like Amazon, DoorDash and Uber to avoid contracting the coronavirus inside restaurants and stores. As a result, companies like Uber Eats and its rival DoorDash have accelerated rapidly. Meanwhile, Uber’s core ride-sharing business continues to suffer as people stay home and are more reluctant to ride in someone else’s car.
The update also follows Uber’s agreement to acquire rival Postmates for $ 2.65 billion in August. In its announcement of the deal, Uber called Postmates “one of the pioneers of” delivery as a service, “which complements Uber’s efforts to expand its delivery service to other categories. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi also recently told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street how he sees the expansion into new delivery categories.
As part of the update, users will now be able to see ratings for nearby restaurants, the places they ordered, and the best places to eat, all of which will be marked with icons on a map. They will be able to see what other people are ordering near them and easily reorder their favorite items. In addition, Uber Eats will offer users a list of “hidden gems” or selected local merchants within their neighborhoods.
On the business side of the app, stores and restaurants can now quickly see which orders are coming from repeat customers, allowing them to easily implement loyalty programs or add last minute gifts. They can also do things like remind regulars that they are a burrito from a free burrito, for example.
Uber Eats already has more than 10,000 supermarkets and convenience stores at its service, and Uber recently hired 100 engineers from other parts of the business to work on the app. Eats, which generated $ 1.2 billion in revenue during the second quarter, is now as big as Uber’s ride-sharing service in 2017, Danker said. Danker also believes that consumers are creating a new expectation for delivery, which he believes will continue well beyond the pandemic.
