Uber Eats
Over the past few years, the use of online delivery services has increased tremendously. With more technology, these services have become easy to use and are convenient for many. More and more services are entering this industry but few stay dominant. Uber Eats has emerged as one of the largest food delivery services in the world and is continuing to grow. This online food ordering service makes it easy for individuals to order food from any type of restaurant they like and have it arrived at a reasonable time. Uber Eats was created back in 2014 and has developed since then. The service has had many updates and advances in the app to make it easier for the consumers to use. This service is connected with over hundreds of thousands of restaurants just across the United States alone. Uber Eats is quickly partnering with more businesses as a response to the high demand of the app itself.
This platform has grown significantly within these past few years due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The pandemic shifted the daily lives of individuals, causing people to stay at home and avoid going to different restaurants and businesses. With the increase of staying and working from home, the pandemic drove many individuals to start using online delivery services to order food. This not only allowed the customers to enjoy the meals they wanted, but it also allowed many businesses to stay open throughout the difficult months of the pandemic. Many small businesses partnered with Uber Eats to just stay open. The delivery services were the middle man between consumers and restaurants throughout the beginning of the pandemic. In 2020, there was a surge in customers for Uber Eats and it continued to increase as the year progressed. The surge in consumers for this industry have allowed sales to skyrocket for Uber Eats.
Uber launched its own food delivery service in 2014; however, it was not Uber Eats, it was known as Uber Fresh. Uber Fresh was a lunch service for the platform and was only available in Santa Monica California. It started as an experiment to see how effective and successful this service could be (Betters). After time spent on that experiment, Uber was able to launch its own Uber Eats app in 2015. This service was founded by both Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick who were also the founders of Uber itself. It was created into its own app that way it could have a separate identity from Uber itself. It also allowed for more organization between the two services for the consumers. Not until more recent updates within the platform did the two apps conjoin into one where individuals can order Ubers or order their food in one spot. There is still the separate Uber Eats app, but now individuals just need Uber itself (Constine). With Uber having a large consumer base, it allowed for quick recognition of Uber Eats and allowed it to emerge as one of the most popular delivery services quickly.
Circuit of Culture
Uber Eats is connected with the five categories of the Circuit of Culture: production, consumption, identity, representation, and regulation. Each of these categories relates to the important aspects of the company and plays a significant role in how this company functions and operates.
Production: The production of the company relates to how this service works and operates. The rundown of how Uber Eats works is that it is an online food delivery service that can be used through the app or through the website itself. It connects with many local restaurants and delivers food directly to your house. With the order comes a service fee. The fees can vary depending upon the restaurants and the amount of food ordered. This fee covers the cost for the driver. Thousands of drivers are employed by Uber Eats across the United States and there are little requirements for the job. All the payment is handled through the app and there is no additional payment needed such as cash when the food arrives. Customers can track their driver and see when the order will arrive. This was launched shortly after Uber itself was created and shares many similarities with Uber and the way it functions. Now, the specifics of how this service makes money. It has three sides to the operation: the driver, the restaurant, and the consumer. The restaurant needs to pay money to Uber Eats as a commission cost, the consumer will pay a service fee to Uber Eats. The drivers will earn money based upon the reliability of their deliveries. The only money that goes directly to the drivers is from the tips from the customers themselves (Pereira). The drivers are not considered employees of Uber Eats but independent contractors. If any order were to be delivered wrong or messed up, there cannot be blame on Uber Eats itself but the drivers. It also allows Uber Eats to make more revenue and not have to deal with the specific issues of the drivers. Becoming an Uber Eats driver has become more desirable over the years. It has become an easy way to make money and it is all in your time and when you decide you want to make deliveries. It is important for Uber Eats to hire reliable drivers to ensure the company gets a good reputation amongst the consumers. The company also makes money through different promotions from restaurants and through surge pricing. The surge pricing occurs during the busy and high demand hours and allows the company to charge more. This same tactic of surge pricing occurs with Uber as well (Austin). This helps bring more revenue for the company and drivers.
Consumption: This service has been used more frequently within the past few years and there are significantly more consumers on this platform compared to even two years ago. The consumption of this service has dramatically increased due to the pandemic. There has been a shift in the delivery service industry because of the pandemic, and it has caused more people to join these types of platforms. There has also been a shift because people are looking for a convenience factor for their lives. Daily life has become more fast pace and this service helps keep up. This service makes it easier for individuals to have any types of meals delivered. With the faster pace lifestyle that individuals are adapting to, this service helps individuals keep up with the pace of everything else. While the consumption relates to all the individuals who are ordering food through this platform, it also relates to the restaurants that partner with the company. During the pandemic alone, Uber Eats was able to grow its partnerships with restaurants by more than 50% (Kelso). Now Uber Eats is partnered with over 600,000 restaurants across 6,000 cities (Curry). There are more restaurants partnering with Uber Eats due to the high demand in the online service industry. This is convenient for the business itself and benefits Uber Eats. The consumption does not just relate to individuals who are using the service but also the restaurants that are partnering with this company. The consumption of the platform is not just in the United States, but it has a strong global presence. It is now available in 45 different countries and is still expanding.
Identity: Uber Eats has the mission of connecting customers with restaurants with high-speed delivery around the world. This service helps to grow communities for restaurants and improve their businesses. This is the identity of Uber Eats. It wants to have positive recognition from the consumers and have positive experiences just as Uber does. The identity of Uber Eats is important in order to stand out from the other competitors in this industry. This industry is difficult to stand out in, but Uber Eats has been able to demonstrate it’s dominance. Uber Eats displays a strong customer feedback loop which allows the customers to rate their experiences with the service. This helps to improve service and allows the company to evaluate what is working versus what needs to be corrected. Another part of the company’s identity is how it is immersed within many cities and countries over the world. By having a strong global presence this distinguishes them from other companies in the industry. Uber Eats adapts to the different cities and infrastructures to help meet the different demands of consumers. Uber Eats has taken immersion initiatives in the past to ensure it reaches the needs of consumers. Designers within the company would visit new cities and study the various aspects of the city. After, these designers would share information with the teams within the company and gain an understanding of the different markets (Smith). This shows the care Uber Eats has for diverse cultures and its ability to adapt. Uber Eats cares for its consumers and wants to make that known through the different actions and initiatives it takes. This is the identity the company wants to be known for and continues to look for ways to create a positive image for the brand.
Representation: Uber Eats emerged as one of the faces of food delivering services and that gives credit to Uber itself. By branching off such a successful company already, Uber Eats was able to have quick recognition by consumers and allowed for trust to be installed without people even using the service. The reliability of Uber itself allows for Uber Eats to have a strong brand image and to become popular amongst the other companies in the industry. The representation of Uber Eats has become more prominent over the years and has demonstrated how it can be just as successful as Uber itself. The pandemic has also allowed for Uber Eats to expand and for more users to join the app. A way their representation has improved is within updates on the app. Uber Eats used to have its own app and would have frequent updates so it was more appealing for the consumers to use. Now, it is conjoined within the Uber app but still has the same layout. When you open the Uber app, you will see a box that says food and you can click on that to be directed to the Uber Eats platform. Once you are in the Uber Eats side of the app you will notice a different appearance from what Uber looks like. This is well organized and easy for individuals to use. This app is easy to use for all individuals despite age or location of the user. It has asserted a dominant global presence within this market which demonstrates strong brand representation.
Regulation: With this service comes many regulations in order to ensure the reliability of the company. One specific regulation that is important for the company is who they hire and allow to be drivers. For Uber Eats to be within the same company as Uber, it allows for the same protocols to be made when hiring drivers. This is convenient for those who want to be just regular drivers or be involved in the delivery service as well. The company requires a valid driver’s license, and for the individual to submit their social security number in order for a background screening to occur (Uber). There are few requirements to be a driver which is why the reliability of the delivery is dependent on the driver themself and not the company. Since Uber Eats is a branch of Uber, the policies and guidelines are the same between both platforms. Uber Eats reinforces the guidelines that Uber has already placed. Some of these are ensuring that the delivery is in a place that does not jeopardize the safety of the driver. Some of the other guidelines on the Uber website discuss how to properly handle and deliver the items (Uber). This company wants to ensure that the consumers’ needs are satisfied, so they place policies for the drivers as well. The company wants to ensure the needs of both the consumers and drivers are being met through these guidelines and policies.
Within these past few years, Uber Eats has had many developments within the service and has been able to grow as one of the strongest online delivery services. With the pandemic, this has increased the sales and revenue for the company and has allowed for the service to be more well-known globally. The pandemic has caused a culture shift within this industry and has caused more people to take advantage of the service. Not only did the pandemic cause an increase, but all the technological developments have allowed these services to become more productive and beneficial for the users. With the new advancements each year within this platform, this has allowed for the service to become more popular. The increase of the popularity in the app does not only benefit the company but also benefits all the restaurants who partner with them. Overall, Uber Eats is continuing to seek out ways to grow and become a more prominent company within the online delivery industry and is taking new steps to ensure the satisfaction of the consumers.
Sources:
Austin, Liam. “How Does Uber Eats Make Money? Uber Eats Business Model in a Nutshell.” FourWeekMBA, May 11, 2019. https://fourweekmba.com/uber-eats-business-model/
Betters, Elyse. “Uber Kicks off Uber Fresh, a Lunch-Delivery Service in US for Limited Time.” Pocket-Lint, August 26, 2014. https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/uber/130524-uber-kicks-off-uber-fresh-a-lunch-delivery-service-in-us-for-limited-time
Constine, Josh. “Uber Eats Uber Eats, Embedding It in the Main App.” TechCrunch. TechCrunch, June 5, 2019. https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/04/uber-eats-uber-eats/.
Curry, David. “Uber Eats Revenue and Usage Statistics (2021).” Business of Apps, November 11, 2021. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/uber-eats-statistics/.
Kelso, Alicia. “Uber Eats Grows Its Restaurant Partner Roster by 50%.” Restaurant Dive, August 7, 2020. https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/uber-eats-grows-its-restaurant-partner-roster-by-50/583098/.
Pereira, Daniel. “Uber Eats Business Model.” Business Model Analyst, November 4, 2020. https://businessmodelanalyst.com/uber-eats-business-model/.
“Uber’s Community Guidelines | Uber Eats Standards | Uber.” Accessed November 5, 2021. https://www.uber.com/us/en/safety/uber-community-guidelines/food-safety/.