Uber is exploring the option of including grocery delivery in its food delivery service Uber Eats, media reports suggest.
The company aims to fill the gap between ordering from Amazon-style warehouses and more traditional grocery delivery services such as Ocado, according the Financial Times.
As competition intensifies in the grocery delivery sector, the company is aiming to compete with global giants like Amazon as well as local companies.
New Opportunity
The head of Uber Eats, Jason Droege, said that he wanted to seize a new opportunity in local online services, the report noted.
Uber reported a loss of $5.2 billion in the second quarter of its financial year, it revealed last week.
However, its Uber Eats division saw 72% revenue growth to $595 million during the quarter.
Pilot Phase
Uber is already testing the grocery concept in Australia, in association with local supermarket group Coles.
As part of the pilot project, it is offering cooked meals and items such as milk, bread, and fruit from a store in Sydney.
Uber is also in talks with supermarkets in Europe and North America about grocery and meal delivery services, including Sainsbury’s in the UK, the report said.
The company is also delivering coffee, ice cream, and baby supplies to consumers in Belgium and Brazil as part of its pilot project with consumer goods companies including Nestlé and Unilever.
According to the report, Droege also said that he hoped the grocery service would emerge from its current piloting phase 'soon'.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
