Uber aims to outdo Amazon in local deliveries, looks beyond food after pandemic craters demand for rides
- Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi compared the company’s offerings to those of Shopify as a way to help local online commerce
- The ride-hailing giant’s delivery business was profitable in the fourth quarter, as it has become more essential during the pandemic
At an industry conference on Tuesday, Khosrowshahi compared Uber’s offerings to Canadian e-commerce company Shopify, which helps merchants set up and operate their digital storefronts. “We think of this as essentially a local Shopify – we can help you power your local online commerce and the Uber platform and the Uber audience is undeniable in the world,” Khosrowshahi said, speaking at the ShopTalk conference in Las Vegas.
The San Francisco-based company, which was founded as a ride-hailing business, was forced to pivot when the pandemic cratered demand for rides and demand for delivery of everything exploded. Uber has since expanded its offerings from restaurant meals to grocery and convenience items.
Khosrowshahi said the delivery business could eventually grow to be bigger than rides, even when the mobility unit gets back to pre-pandemic levels. Uber added 120,000 non-restaurant merchants on to its platform in the last year. Its delivery business as a whole was profitable in the fourth quarter of 2021, driven by its core food delivery unit, Uber Eats.
Venturing into retail will yield few profits, if any, Khosrowshahi said. “We’re not looking to make money here,” he said. “The growth and the incremental profitability from mobility and our Eats business are more than enough to pay for the investments that we’re making in retail.”