Uber’s best bet is to use its ubiquity and product breadth to beat rivals in ride hailing, scooters, and food delivery. It’s the only US company doing all three, but competition threatens to eat away at its margins on each. But if it can become your one-stop-shop for getting yourself or a meal from point A to point B, it might be able to salvage its share price and survive until self-driving cars change its economics.
So today at Uber’s own launch event it unveiled two visions for the future of Uber’s home screen. One test adds a prominent Uber Eats button to the bottom of the screen. An even more aggressive version replaces the hallmark map with two big buttons in the screen’s center: one for ride hailing, one for Uber Eats. Clearly it’s imperative to Uber to can get more of its nearly 100 million users Eating. The new versions are testing in 9 countries starting today.
“We want to be the operating system for your every day life” says CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. “A one-click gateway to everything that Uber can offer you.”
Additional launches announced today include:
-The expansion of its rider loyalty Rewards program to its first international markets
-Flexibility in how your Rewards are applied so instead of always getting $5 in Uber cash, you could get 25% off your next UberX or 10% off your next Uber Eats
-Allergy-friendly filters in Uber Eats search and easy ways to communicate allergies and dietary restrictions to restaurants
-To reduce waste, Uber Eats will now default to not including utensils and straws unless you request them
-A partnership with Feeding America will allow restaurants that use Uber Eats to easily donate excess food, and see Uber Freight moving food donations between the non-profit’s 200 food banks and 60,000 pantries
-Uber Copter will be available for all New York City users offering
Source: TechCrunch
