WASHINGTON D.C. - Uber is testing out The Corner Store, a new online grocery delivery service to complement its already exceedingly popular private taxi services. During this month long trial period, Uber app users in the Washington D.C. area will be able to select over 100 items with their smartphones for free same day delivery to their home addresses.
While the new feature is so far limited to just shoppers in the D.C. Area, Uber has hinted that if it is met with sufficient success, it could be expanding the program in the future.
"The more you love it, the more likely it will last,” read a post on Uber's blog.
Uber is just the latest in a long line of companies to jump onboard online grocery delivery. Google and Amazon for example have already debuted their own delivery service programs. Whether any of these programs meet with enough economic success to continue into the future is still up in the air however, according to Stephen Mader, Director of Digital Retail at the Kantar Consultancy.
"The biggest hurdle that a lot of these delivery companies have is how can you make the economics of last-mile grocery deliveries add up?" he told BBC. "On average, Uber's price points are on a par with what you would find in a physical store such as Walgreens, so what it is trying to do is take the pricing equation out of it from the shopper's perspective. But long-term this is most likely not going to be economically feasible unless Uber starts to figure out other ways to monetize this, through adding delivery fees or charging advertising fees to brands that take part in the programmer."
If the service does start drawing in profits could Uber one day expand the program to include fresh produce? Considering that many of its competitors in the field like AmazonFresh have already done so would suggest that the likelihood is high.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for any further updates in this expanding grocery delivery marketplace.
