- In Brazil, Uber is partnering up with two of the country’s three largest supermarket chains, Carrefour and Grupo Big;
- Uber’s announcement comes a day after it has acquired Postmates for $2.65 billion.
Uber has officially launched grocery delivery in select Latin American cities. The initiative is also available in Montreal and Toronto, Canada. The new product is part of the recently acquired majority stake in Cornershop, the Chile-based startup that brought grocery delivery at first to the Latin American market. With that, Uber starts delivering from supermarkets to tackle Rappi and iFood.
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The option is already available to some users as of today and is expected to be released to all consumers soon. In Brazil, the partnership with Uber includes two of the country’s three largest supermarket retailers, Carrefour and Grupo Big. Cornershop also allows purchases from Varanda, Emporium São Paulo, Gimba and Cobasi in Brazil.
Today’s launch covers 19 cities in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and is set to expand to the U.S. market later this month. In Colombia Cornershop has had a presence since last year with businesses such as Farmatodo, Colsubsidio, Locatel, Jumbo, Metro, Alkosto, Justo & Bueno, Surtifruver, Ara, Laika and Puerto Market, among others, says La República.
Uber’s announcement comes a day after it has acquired Postmates for $2.65 billion. With this acquisition, Uber will be the largest delivery service in the USA after DoorDash. Both Uber and Postmates are operating in negative: Uber has lost $2.9 billion during Q1 because of the pandemic.
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“The one thing we know for certain is that the world is constantly changing. That’s why at Uber, we are always looking for new ways to better serve the millions of people who rely on us. Whether you need to get to work, order dinner for your family, or earn a little extra to meet your goal, we have you covered. And today, we’re taking an important step to help you get more of what you need when you need it: we’re officially launching grocery delivery”, said the company in a statement.
It is possible to purchase groceries through both the Uber and Uber Eats apps. “Over the last six months, it’s become increasingly clear that grocery delivery is not only popular, but often a necessity. We expect to see this trend continue as people across the world look for new ways to save time and stay safe. We’re excited to be on this journey alongside the popular grocery delivery startup Cornershop to make this a reality today”, said Uber.
According to Uber, today’s launch comes after testing and demand for deliveries from grocery and convenience stores on Uber, with orders increasing by 197% since March. Uber has partnered with more than 9,500 merchants to deliver groceries across 35 countries on Uber Eats.
Following the Cornershop integration in select cities in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Canada, Uber plans to roll out new grocery delivery features for customers and merchants alike in the US and other cities around the world over the coming months.
