Uber is rolling out updates to its Shop and Pay feature that address three of the most commonly raised carrier issues: out-of-stock, digital payments, and order clarity before accepting a ride.
The ride-hailing and delivery giant quietly launched Shop and Pay last year. This is a feature where the delivery person can choose to receive a trip to do grocery and other retail shopping for the customer before delivering the order to the customer’s door. Uber’s attempt to follow the Instacart model, which has worked well for incumbent grocery delivery companies. Instacart reported a surge in sales and profits in the fourth quarter of 2022. This is fueled by the growing trend of consumers to buy groceries online rather than in stores.
Since launching six months ago, Uber says nearly 200,000 U.S. couriers are actively shopping each month.
Uber sees significant opportunities to grow its numbers and strengthen its grocery delivery pillar. This is just one part of the company’s plans to cross-sell customers across its platforms, from food delivery to grocery delivery, groceries to alcohol, alcohol to experiences, experiences. to the vehicle.
(See: Amazonization of Uber)
A key component of this plan is to ensure that the driver (in this case, the “shopper”) does not dislike the job. So update your app.
“Shoppers are a key factor in the success of Uber’s grocery ambitions, and while we’ve made great strides, we still have a long way to go,” said Meghan Casserly, Uber’s head of delivery communications. says Mr. “…but when compared to his over 5.4 million drivers on his Uber platform around the world, we see that even a fraction of that has the potential to add shopping trips to the mix.”
Finding ways to make the customer’s shopping experience as easy as possible is within Uber’s interest in increasing usage of the service. Shoppers don’t just have to deliver orders, they also have to go to the store, ask customers questions, pay for orders, and decide what to do if Ginger Lemon runs out of her kombucha.
Our first update provides shoppers with out-of-stock solutions. According to Uber, this is consistently the number one complaint in surveys, with one-fifth of grocery orders containing at least one out-of-stock item. Not only is finding potential replacements an annoying addition to the shopper’s mental strain, it can also waste shoppers time choosing alternatives. This is a problem because you are not paid based on hours worked. Time is of the essence because he accepts the rates Uber offers when they accept gigs.
Now, when shoppers tell the app that they can’t find the item they originally requested in the store, the app displays a list of suggested alternatives based on similar brands or items, speeding up the decision-making process. increase. Shoppers can send their suggestions directly in the app to customers for review. Instacart has a similar feature, where drivers can choose from app-prompted replacement suggestions, and customers can approve replacements.
Uber has also found the obvious solution of providing drivers with pre-authorized physical credit cards to cover the cost of orders purchased by drivers. The driver complained that his card was declined and either canceled the order and wasted his time, or made the uncomfortable decision to pay out of his own pocket, roll the dice and issue a refund.
Shoppers across the US can now activate their digital cards on their mobile phones using Apple or Google Pay. In a recent survey, Uber found that 92% of his shoppers found it easy to activate digital payments, and 88% said checkout was easy.
For comparison, Instacart launched a mobile checkout option with Apple Pay and Google Pay in 2020, but drivers will have to use a physical card if their order exceeds the price tap limit. It says there is
Finally, Uber’s new update gives drivers more clarity before accepting orders. Shoppers can see the number of unique items in an order, not just the total number of items. An example Uber gave in a blog post is that it would be useful for a driver to know if he’s getting his 1 gallon of milk or 5 gallons of milk, and if that order actually fits in his car. It is possible to judge what
Uber soon said that “offer cards” would also give shoppers information about their orders.
Instacart hasn’t verified what information is on the offer cards for shoppers, but based on several YouTube videos from shoppers, it tells shoppers the total number of items and number of units. The total number seems to be given (say, 5 units because there are 4 items, but the customer ordered 2 of the same yogurt), and a quick preview of some items on the customer’s shopping list.
