Uber Expands Same-Day Grocery Service to 400 Cities with Plans to Go National

On-demand and scheduled grocery delivery services from Uber Technology have now expanded to 400 towns and cities in the U.S., more than doubling the availability of the offering.   Both Uber and Uber Eats are making deliveries in markets including San Francisco, New York City and Washington D.C., and the company plans to have nationwide coverage by the end of this year.

Uber launched its same-day grocery service in select parts of the U.S. in July 2020, and has steadily expanded the offering since. Uber has found partners in regional supermarkets like Southeastern Grocers and recently started a relationship with Albertsons Companies that will offer delivery from 1,200 stores under more than half a dozen banners.

“This past year has been one of incredible growth for grocery delivery,” said Raj Beri, Global Head of Grocery and New Verticals at Uber in a statement. “Today nearly 3 million consumers order groceries and other essentials each month through Uber, and we’re just getting started. By adding thousands of beloved grocers to our selection this year, we are fast-tracking our efforts to help Americans get everything they need from their favorite supermarket, delivered to their doorsteps.”

Uber has spent 2021 building out its delivery capabilities in a big way. The ridesharing service kicked off the year by launching a partnership with delivery and fulfillment cloud platform provider Bringg that gives retailers seamless access to drivers through Uber Direct. As a result, companies can use Uber for same-day and next-day delivery without sacrificing branding, measurement or visibility.

Uber also acquired Drizly for approximately $1.1 billion in February 2021, adding beer, wine and spirits in more than 1,400 cities. Drizly continues to operate as an independent entity, but now has access to Uber’s mobile marketplace technologies while enhancing Uber’s own capabilities. The deal built on Uber’s acquisition of Postmates in June 2020.

Walgreens is one of the largest retailers to utilize Uber’s growing delivery options. The retailer now uses Uber to offer same-day delivery from 7,800 stores, with plans to eventually offer 20,000 items through the platform. The partnership complements Walgreens’ own same-day delivery service, which includes 24,000 products.