New York is the latest addition to Uber’s new grocery delivery service, an international business that started in Dallas, Miami, and parts of Canada and Latin America earlier this summer. For its New York City debut, Uber appears to be focusing on higher-end grocers, and the company has already signed-on upscale mini-chains like Gristedes, Westside Market, and D’Agostino’s. Grocery delivery is only available to residents in parts of Manhattan to start, though the company plans to expand the service citywide in the coming months, according to an Uber spokesperson.
Grocery delivery existed long before the coronavirus pandemic, but services like InstaCart, Fresh Direct, and Amazon Fresh have become incredibly popular — and in some cases, necessary — over the last seven months. Less than one month into New York City’s shutdown in April, customers reported that big box grocery delivery was almost impossible to obtain, with some customers staying up through the night to place orders. Other services have since popped up to fill that demand, including mutual aid groups, community-supported agriculture (CSA) boxes, local specialty food stores, and restaurants offering pantry staples for delivery.
Uber is the latest entrant into the grocery delivery game. The new service is built into the Uber and Uber Eats apps. Deliveries are carried out in partnership with Cornershop, a grocery delivery company that Uber acquired last year.
*By Luke Fortney via New York Eater*
