Uber Eats couriers to pick and pack grocery orders under new scheme
It will also introduce smart item verification, which notifies a courier if the wrong item has been selected and shows them what they need to look for
Uber Eats has announced the launch of a new service that will enable its couriers to pick and pack supermarket orders on behalf of customers.
It comes as the company revealed the number of shoppers who have placed a grocery order on its platform has nearly doubled in the last two years.
With ‘Courier Pick and Pack’, orders will be matched with a driver who will engage with customers as they walk around the store.
Courier will be able to ask shoppers what substitutions they want if items are out of stock.
The driver will then check out using a pre-authorised payment method before delivering the items to the customer’s doorstep.
Uber Eats currently works with retailers including Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose in the UK.
Alongside this, Uber is set to launch a range of additional new products, including aisle indexing, which will give couriers the exact aisle and shelf location of the items.
It will also introduce smart item verification, which notifies a courier if the wrong item has been selected and shows them what they need to look for.
Susan Anderson, Uber’s global head of Uber grocery and retail, said: ‘It’s very clear that grocery shopping trends have fundamentally changed. Our busy lifestyles mean we physically go to the supermarket for a big shop less frequently and prefer to rely more on apps like Uber Eats to order fresh grocery ingredients when we want them.
“In the UK the trend is fascinating in the way it reflects people’s desire to eat healthily – and their increasing familiarity with using our tech to make their lives easier. We’ve become a global leader in the field, and this is the reason why we are launching new products like Courier Pick and Pack, which we believe will change the way that people shop for groceries.”