Uber Unveils Grocery Delivery

Following an acceleration of consumer demand for delivery worldwide, Uber announces its first product integration with grocery startup Cornershop, which it agreed to acquire last year

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) today announced that users in select Latin American and Canadian cities can now order groceries through the Uber and Uber Eats apps, in partnership with Cornershop, the popular grocery delivery startup based in Santiago, Chile. This follows the companies’ 2019 agreement for Uber to acquire a majority stake in Cornershop, which is expected to close in the coming days. Today’s news marks Uber and Cornershop’s first integrated grocery delivery experience.

Uber connects people and communities with the tap of a button, including rides, prepared food, retail goods—and now groceries. Starting today, shoppers in select cities in Latin America, Canada and coming later this month, the United States, can find grocery delivery opportunities through both Uber and Uber Eats apps, furthering Uber’s vision of bringing people closer to the things they need, all in one place.

“Today’s product integration marks an important step in our partnership with the team at Cornershop to bring grocery delivery to millions of consumers on the Uber platform,” said Raj Beri, Uber’s Global Head of Grocery. “Uber started on the premise that people should be able to more easily get to the places they need to go, and to people they care about. This has since evolved to connecting people to food from their favorite local restaurants, and we are thrilled to bring our product expertise to the world of grocery alongside the Cornershop team.”

Cornershop’s technology brings new expertise to Uber’s delivery efforts, with over four years operating, refining, and establishing key grocery delivery partnerships in Latin America, and more recently in the US and Canada. With this new integration, grocery orders placed on Uber and Uber Eats will be facilitated and delivered by Cornershop team members. Just like ordering a ride or a meal with Uber, customers can follow their grocery delivery at each step of the process.

"We launched Cornershop almost exactly five years ago today, and it's hard to imagine a better way to celebrate our anniversary than joining forces with the best on-demand platform around. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Uber to take our mission to millions,” said Oskar Hjertonsson, Founder and CEO of Cornershop. “Uber is the perfect partner to bring on-demand groceries from incredible merchant partners at the touch of a button across the Americas.”

Today’s product launch comes after grocery delivery experiments with more than 9,500 merchants in over 30 countries on Uber Eats, where Uber has seen a 176% increase in grocery orders since February. Following this integration in select cities in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Canada, Uber plans to roll out improvements to the grocery experience for shoppers and merchants alike globally, throughout the summer of 2020 and beyond.

Following regulatory approval in Chile, Uber’s majority investment in Cornershop is expected to close in the coming days, outside of Mexico. Uber and Cornershop continue to work closely with COFECE, the Mexican Competition Authority, as they assess the final component of the investment, bringing together Uber and Cornershop in Mexico.

About Uber Eats

Uber Eats is an on-demand platform and website that helps bring millions of people around the world the food they want, at the tap of a button. We partner with over 400,000 restaurants and merchants in more than 6,000 cities across six continents who make meals for every taste and occasion. From specialty local favorites to everyday national brand names, Uber Eats has what you want when you want it—with an average delivery time of 30 minutes.

About Cornershop

Cornershop was founded by friends Oskar Hjertonsson, Daniel Undurraga and Juan Pablo Cuevas in 2015. Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, Cornershop is backed by Accel, ALLVP, Creandum, and JSV.