Uber’s grocery delivery biz up 10pc, CEO pins hopes on quick commerce

As quick commerce (Q-commerce) gains momentum, Uber’s new verticals businesses, which includes grocery, alcohol, convenience, and other non-restaurant efforts, grew nearly 10 per cent (on-quarter) in Q4 2021, reaching the best month ever in December.

According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, the ride-hailing major continues to have a strong lead in grocery and other verticals. “We’re working to build on that lead with new Quick Commerce offerings and we’re intentionally taking a partner-led approach here with encouraging signs of adoption,” Khosrowshahi said during the company’s earnings call late on Wednesday. “Uber for Business also reached a milestone during the quarter with managed U4B gross bookings surpassing its previous high from 2019 with well over $1 billion in annual run-rate GBS,” he informed.

Over the next few years, U4B’s enterprise offerings which importantly spans both mobility and delivery will significantly “outpace our consumer business and become a meaningful contributor to growth and profitability,” said the CEO. In 2021, the company saw $25.9 billion in gross platform spend, up 51 per cent compared to its year-ago result, and revenues of $5.78 billion, up 83 per cent from the year-ago quarter.

“December gross bookings nearly recovered to 2019 levels and approached a $50 billion annual run rate in the first few weeks of the month,” said Khosrowshahi.

Uber Eats became the fastest growing delivery player in the US. “It appears that the Omicron impact on our Mobility business has come and gone relatively quickly, even faster than the global case counts,” said the Uber CEO.

For the Q1 this year, Uber expects total gross bookings to be between $25 billion to $26 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 28-33 per cent.