I stumbled upon the news of Uber's launch of a same-day grocery delivery service called The Corner Store (available only in Washington DC for now) and couldn't help but feel amazed at how this start-up, valued at $18B, continues to push the envelope and challenge conventional business models.
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| Link to the news article from BBC here |
Many wonder how they plan to monetize this same day grocery delivery service, as Google (Shopping Express) and Amazon (AmazonFresh) have both tried to launch similar services with limited success. My guess is that they will worry about the money afterwards and look to answer an actual customer need first. Uber already has access to a customer's credit card information through their car service, adding grocery shopping to their list of services looks like a step to diversify their business and at the same time funnel a larger share of consumers spending to their platform. Providing their community of drivers with ways to earn additional revenue during off-peak hours is just the icing on the cake.
I have not yet personally tried their car service, but I have heard first hand from friends how amazing it is. I wonder how long it will take for this new service to be rolled out to other markets.