Uber’s four-year-old delivery business generated $8.6 billion in bookings for its third quarter to September 30.
Reporting back on the highlights from quarter, Uber noted that although its overall bookings were down 10 per cent year-on-year, its delivery bookings grew 135 per cent year-on-year.
Uber’s ride-sharing business component saw its booking drop 53 per cent for the quarter, down to just under $6 billion.
The results mean Uber’s delivery arm has now taken the lead for the company.
Uber’s move into the grocery delivery space this year meant the company was able to diversify as many of its customers across the world were forced to stay at home in nation-wide lockdowns.
While its grocery-delivery arm is only one part of its Uber Eats segment, Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said that he believes the company is in a good position to rapidly scale its grocery operations.
“We have a giant audience in terms of our both mobility business and delivery business. So we’re able to build a grocery business with an audience already and really deepen that engagement with the audience,” Khosrowshahi said.
Uber said it offers grocery deliveries in ten countries, including the UK, Australia, Japan, France, Taiwan, Canada, Chile and Brazil.
The grocery-delivery arm of the business generated bookings of $1 billion at an annualised run rate in September.
Uber is currently working on a US-version, after trials in Dallas and Miami in July this year.
“We have a giant audience in terms of our both mobility business and delivery business. So we’re able to build a grocery business with an audience already and really deepen that engagement with the audience,” Khosrowshahi said in light of the results.
With many of the UK’s supermarkets struggling to meet customer demand for shopping delivered to their door step, Sainsbury’s announced a partnership with both Uber Eats and Deliveroo last month.
Around 1000 Sainsbury’s products will soon be available to purchase on the Uber Eats app in ten locations across the UK.
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