Uber will pick up, deliver prepaid items
This comes a month after the app said it would help users return unwanted items
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Ridehailing service Uber, one of the newest members of the S&P 500, now sends couriers to pick up and deliver prepaid customer purchases.
It's the latest in a growing list of services that underscores how the company is trying to capitalize on the holiday shopping frenzy.
The timing comes shortly after CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in his recent statement following the latest quarterly earnings release, that demand on its platform "remains healthy."
Starting December 5, customers in more than 1,500 cities and towns across the U.S. will be able to send a courier to pick up their product purchases from local stores under its new "Store Pickup" feature. The feature can include any upcoming holiday purchases.
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The packages have to be pre-paid and the receipt must be uploaded to the Uber Eats app to get processed, according to the company.
Uber signage on a vehicle in San Francisco, California, in April 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The package must have a value under $200 and weigh less than 30 lbs. All items sent through Uber Connect must also comply with all laws and regulations and with Uber policies, according to its website.
The items can be sent to either the user or someone else. The user can also track the delivery process through the app.
"It is the perfect product for consumers who could use a little help picking up items from local stores, whether they’d like to have those items delivered to their homes, or to friends and family nearby," Wendy Lee, Uber director of Delivery Product Management, said in a statement.
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| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 70.19 | +0.59 | +0.85% |
In November, the company expanded the Uber Connect service to let users return packages for the first time.
Users are able to schedule a courier to pick up prepaid and sealed packages (up to five at a time) that can be dropped off at a local U.S. post office, UPS store or FedEx store, according to the company's website.
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The "Store Pickup" feature comes with nearly three weeks of holiday shopping left before Christmas. The feature is advertised as a way to help people making last-minut pickup orders.
Transport apps including Uber and Zipcar are seen on a smartphone in London on November 25, 2019. (DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
While a substantial majority of consumers — about 85% — started their holiday shopping during Thanksgiving weekend, they were only halfway done, according to data from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Uber Connect first launched in 2020. At the time, the service was designed so that users could request a driver to transport packages to a person waiting at a designated dropoff location. They could also request a package get sent to them from a designated sender. However, this is the first time users will be allowed to have items picked up directly from a store.