Uber Launches Supermarket Shopping Delivery to Tackle Crisis

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Tuesday, July 7th, Uber announced a partnership with the Cornershop supermarket delivery startup, which allows users to shop through Uber and Uber Eats apps.

As of yesterday, users from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Salvador, Recife, Goiânia and Campinas can find the “Market” option in the Uber and Uber Eats app – in their updated versions.

Uber had reported last October the acquisition of a majority stake in the Chilean startup, which is also present in Canada, Colombia, Peru, Mexico and the United States. The agreement is expected to be finalized within the next few days, with final approval from regulatory agencies, according to the US company.

How it works

Cornershop reached Brazil in January 2020, but has been in the market for five years. With this new incorporation, the supermarket orders made on the Uber and Uber Eats apps will be sorted and delivered by “shoppers” who are registered at the Cornershop.

Just like when making a trip by Uber or ordering food through Uber Eats, users will be able to follow each stage of the order. The company has partnerships with several supermarket chains, such as Carrefour and Big, among others.

“Today’s integration marks an important step in our partnership with the Cornershop team to bring the intermediation of supermarket shopping and deliveries to millions of Uber platform users,” said Eduardo Donnelly, Uber Eats director for Latin America.

In practice, as of Tuesday, a portion of users can now find the “Market” option within the company’s apps. “As with most of Uber’s new product releases, not all users will have the option available right away, but it will be available for everyone soon,” says the Uber note.

When selecting this option, users are directed to the shopping environment, where they can search by product or store. Users can select the partner market and pick the items available for purchase, which are displayed on the app page.

If a product is no longer available in stock while users are creating the list, the app will provide them with the option to replace or cancel that item.

Crisis

According to Uber, the announcement comes after tests with more than 9,500 business partners in 30 countries where Eats operation is present. In these markets, Uber has already recorded a 176 percent increase in supermarket orders since February.

The company is also trying to meet a significant increase in consumer demand for the delivery of supermarket products during the current health crisis.

Uber has been facing difficult times during the pandemic. With reduced global demand for trips since the crisis began, and people spending more time at home, the company dismissed 3,700 employees worldwide in May and has not ruled out a new wave of redundancies.

In May, trip orders fell by about 70 percent over the preceding year. The reductions reached 80 percent in April, according to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

However, in June Uber recorded a gradual increase in trip orders as several countries began easing restrictions imposed to fight the novel coronavirus.

In Hong Kong, one of the world’s most successful regions in containing the coronavirus outbreak, Uber has already recovered over 80 percent of its losses caused by social distancing measures, reported Khosrowshahi.

Therefore, a business related to supermarket delivery, a sector that remained solid during the crisis, becomes an interesting alternative for the company.

“This milestone reinforces our commitment to Latin America, our fastest growing market for food delivery intermediation and where millions of people already use our full platform,” said Eduardo Donnelly, Uber Eats director for Latin America.