Uber Eats Throws Down Gauntlet, Aims For 70 Pct Of Food Delivery Market

Uber plans the expansion its on-demand food delivery service Uber Eats so that it covers more than 70 percent of the U.S. by the end of the year.

The service, which currently covers more than 50 percent of the U.S. population, has been successful even in places where Uber does not operate its ride-hailing business or has a small presence. In fact, the company has been able to “successfully introduce the Uber brand to the marketplace through Eats,” said Uber’s Head of U.S. Cities for Uber Eats Ana Mahony, according to reports, as 40 percent of its new Eats customers are new to Uber.

Mahoney added that one of the benefits to operating Eats is that there are different regulatory requirements, so the comparison between the Eats growth data to that of the first three years of UberX gross bookings shows that “Eats is growing just as fast, if not faster.” In April, it was reported that Uber Eats was the fastest-growing meal delivery service in the U.S., bringing in nearly as much new customer revenue as mobile order rival Grubhub, with customers spending more on Uber Eats than on any other food delivery service in nine of the 22 most populous U.S. cities.

To continue expanding, Uber is launching a new self sign-up process for restaurants to make it easier for them to become an Uber Eats partner.

“Uber is really evolving into a platform brand where we are moving very many different types of goods and services, and people, from point A to point B,” Mahony said.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Uber is planning to use drones for food delivery by 2021. In the meantime, the company has teamed up with Starbucks so that South Florida residents can get their food and drinks delivered, and it has also partnered with Popeyes in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami and Washington D.C.