Uber has helped consumers with quicker service and lower prices but is now poised to wipe out smaller competing services, such as Btownmenus.
How does a ride-share compete with food delivery?
The company announced last week it will be rolling out UberEATS to ten major cities, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Sadly, neither Bloomington nor Indianapolis are on that list.
With the overwhelming success Uber has found, it’s likely their food delivery business will take off.
Fast delivery sounds almost as good as free pizza. I can’t wait for UberEATS.
This new service is a huge benefit and fits the millennial generation’s consumption pattern. According to a Forbes article, the service guarantees curbside delivery in less than 30 minutes.
The app has been beta tested for the past year and a half in Toronto, according to Wired Magazine.
It allows customers to order pre-set meals for prices lower than if they had ordered them directly from the restaurant.
This allow Uber to enter into a crowded field of food delivery.
UberEATS will compete against services such as GrubHub and Seamless.
However, these competitors still have a chance to hold onto their market share by offering a wider selection of restaurants from which to order.
The UberEATS website only has 13 restaurants in Chicago. Toronto, however, has a more established market base and over 100 options.
Even if Uber’s first foray into food falls flat, their diversified background will allow the company to take another crack at the market.
This model brings in revenue from multiple sources: the partner restaurants and consumers ordering the food. The takes advantage of Uber’s million-driver fleet.
Uber has also been accepted into local markets.
When Walmart spread, local small businesses closed down. They were the image of corporate America taking over the nation.
Yet, despite the initial refusal, many customers were eventually swayed by lower prices and smiling faces. Uber has no such barriers.
The largest barrier for UberEATS will be convincing consumers to try the app for the first time.
Many young people are already familiar with Uber — either using the ride service during a night out or coming home from an airport.
But the older generations that aren’t used to smartphones in their hands, will take more time to try the delivery service.
However, it seems the app’s simple interface and secure payment function will reassure the more cautious consumer.
If the test markets are successful, Bloomington may have another delivery service in town.
This makes hour-long wait times for Taste of India a thing of the past.
As a hungry college student, I can’t wait to try it out.
wkiepura@indiana.edu
@wkiepura
