Uber may soon introduce a loyalty program as part of its food delivery business called UberEats, as the taxi technology company is testing such an initiative, the firm’s UK country manager Toussaint Wattinne suggested recently. According to a new report, Wattinne confirmed back in December that Uber has been experimenting with the loyalty program in collaboration with a few partners in select areas. It is not immediately clear what rewards customers may get from the program if they sign up for Uber’s food delivery service, but reports suggest they could be exempted from having to pay for delivery fees while being able to view promotional materials.
While Uber is apparently considering to release a loyalty program for its food delivery service in light of the recent developments of subscription models in the market, Wattinne also pointed out that the company does not intend to carry out that plan immediately as it acknowledges the fact that the move requires huge investment. In addition to that, Wattinne reiterated that the company’s top priority is not rolling out a loyalty program for UberEats at the moment. It makes sense, however, for Uber to aim to attract more customers to its food delivery service through the addition of the loyalty program as UberEats is one of the most profitable areas for Uber, according to a report from The New York Times in September last year. The report claimed that Uber is gaining a sizable chunk of its profit from UberEats specifically in 27 out of the 108 cities where the service is available, with the food delivery service outpacing regular ride-sharing in cities like Tokyo and Seoul.
UberEats has been available for quite some time now, albeit in a small number of cities only. Its mobile app companion for Android devices was launched in March 2016 and has since received a number of updates, with the most recent one being its ability to recommend specific foods at restaurants based on several factors such as your preferences, monitor your favorite restaurants and foods, and prioritize your favorite establishments in searches. The mobile app also includes a ranking system that displays your most recent community rankings for a given restaurant when searching. The likely addition of the loyalty program to the service will mark a significant step in Uber’s goal to become profitable before it can go public.