Uber
- New Uber and Uber Eats products emphasize mobility and delivery needs in a post-pandemic world.
- Uber Eats customers in certain markets can now get two deliveries from one courier.
- Bundled orders can be made from 7-Eleven and Wawa, part of Uber's growing Uber Delivery division.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Soon Uber Eats users might be able to get a Big Mac from McDonald's and beer and paper towels from 7-Eleven bundled into one delivery at no extra charge.
The bundling feature is part of a string of new product launches announced Wednesday morning by the ride-hailing giant, which is growing its Uber Delivery division. Other new services include booking a ride and a vaccine appointment at Walgreens from the Uber app, car rental valet services, pre-ordering a meal before a restaurant opens, and easier scheduling of food and grocery orders while en route on your Uber ride.
Read more: How Uber is planning its push into the 'cutthroat' grocery business led by Instacart and DoorDash
The new services are the culmination of a year-long pivot, where Uber innovated off of- and relied on – its delivery platform to bring food, groceries, and convenience store goods to consumers during lockdowns that swept the US.
The new features unveiled Wednesday are designed to meet consumers' evolving needs in a post-pandemic world, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a video presentation.
"The innovations and products that we're announcing will help you go where you want and get what you need easier and faster than ever before," Khosrowshahi said. "At Uber, we're reimagining how the world moves as we return, not just the normal, but to a better normal."
The new "add-on" bundling feature gives Uber's delivery division more exposure to customers and offers a source of diversification in the crowded on-demand delivery space.
Initially, the add-on feature, located on the Uber Eats app, will be limited to ordering items from nearby convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, Wawa, Sainsbury's, Watsons, Rexall Drugstores, and Shell. Bundling allows users to get two orders delivered together by the same courier without a separate delivery fee and without delay, the company said.
"We'll only suggest merchants that are possible to order from that won't delay your overall order," Lorraine Ho, delivery product lead, said in a press briefing held on Zoom.
Depending on the market, a customer ordering a meal from McDonald's might be asked if they'd like to "add on" more items from a nearby 7-Eleven. The program will launch in 20 major metros in the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Taiwan, and Australia.
Uber
When asked if Uber Delivery plans to bundle groceries with a restaurant order in the future, Ho said: "In general, we do try to drive efficiencies in the ecosystem. So I think we're excited to learn about the possibilities as we learn more about offering groceries. But for the meantime, nothing as yet."
Uber is rolling out services aimed at giving time-pressed consumers the ability to get groceries and restaurant meals delivered while in transit.
For example, if you're taking an Uber home from the airport, the app will display a prompt asking the rider if they need to order food or groceries for home delivery. Ordering ahead was always possible within the app.
"What's new here are the prompts," Uber said. And each prompt is "contextualized by time of day and location," the company said.
Uber Grocery is also relatively new. The company launched the service last summer and is now available in 20 major metro areas in the US including Florida, Texas, and New Jersey. Both Eats and Grocery are part of Uber Delivery.
During the pandemic, Uber worked with more than 1 million merchants to move more than 1.5 billion orders of meals and grocery items, Khosrowshahi said.
Dasmer Singh, senior product manager at Uber, said the new features represent the company's projections that consumers will continue to demand a variety of choices when it comes to doorstep delivery.
"We have not seen a slowdown in delivery," which is why the company has expanded Uber Delivery to include groceries and alcohol, Singh said.
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