More than 3,000 bp retail locations will become available on the Uber Eats platform over the next three years to support the growing demand for the fast delivery of food, groceries and everyday essentials.
The strategic partnership between bp and Uber is an extension of their existing agreements in Australia, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and the west coast of the U.S. The new deal adds the U.K. and the eastern U.S. to the Uber Eats platform this year, with plans to launch in additional European markets beginning next year, according to a press release emailed to PYMNTS on Tuesday (March 29).
As part of the agreement, delivery options will be powered by Uber Direct and introduced on bp’s own app BPme by the end of next year in the U.K., U.S. and Australia. The BPme app has over 16 million active users since it was launched in 2019. The deal will enable bp to directly connect its customers to the 4.4 million drivers and couriers on the Uber Eats platform worldwide.
Emma Delaney, executive vice president of customers and products at bp, said the extended partnership with Uber will give bp the ability to reach more customers worldwide while growing the company’s delivery footprint.
“We’ve seen how the pandemic has accelerated customer demand for delivered convenience and this partnership will allow us to scale up quickly on the Uber platform. And for the first time, we will be able to offer delivery options to existing customers on our own BPme app by the end of 2023,” Delaney said.
bp is the first convenience merchant to partner with Uber Eats on an international level. The retail chain has 20,500 sites around the world and an estimated 550 million customers live within 20 minutes of one of its locations. Its retail shops offer different products depending on the local market, including hot and cold drinks, snacks, grocery staples, fresh produce, prepared meals, wine, beer, and flowers.
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In the U.K., customers can order from the Wild Bean Café or choose among other branded food and products. The first 120 sites are anticipated to go live on the Uber Eats platform by the end of June. In the U.S., bp’s network of independently owned retail locations will become available.
“With more than 20,500 locations around the world, bp’s reach is enormous — making them critical partners as we pursue our ambitions of helping consumers across the world get what they need delivered to their doorsteps,” said Pierre Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s SVP of Global Delivery.