Hoping to capitalize on a post-pandemic return to at-home gatherings, Uber Eats has launched a series of new features for its Group Ordering function, the delivery service announced Wednesday (March 9).
Among these features is bill splitting, where users “can create a group and allow individuals to order from the same restaurant and pay for whatever they’d like.”
Once the orders are in, they’re added to a group cart for the host to checkout. From there, all the food from the group will arrive at once.
There’s also a new feature called Deadlines, which lets people who’ve created a group order set a deadline so that everyone has time to get their orders in. Uber has also created auto-reminders, designed to save customers from having to bug their friends about getting their orders in on time.
See also: Uber Says It’s Bouncing Back From Omicron, Raises 1Q Guidance
Earlier this week, Uber raised its first quarter guidance and said its ride-hailing business is recovering from the disruptions caused by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The company raised its guidance for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), from between $100 million and $130 million to between $130 million and $150 million. Uber says this demonstrates that operations are moving towards its profitability.
News of Uber’s new ordering features arrives just as Uber rival DoorDash announced its own way to make paying for meals easier, albeit in a different way.
Read more: DoorDash Launches BNPL in Australia with Afterpay
The company this week formed a partnership with Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay that lets DoorDash customers in Australia pay for orders in installments. The move is designed to give customers who might be wary of paying the high prices levied by delivery services a bit of breathing room.
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