According to Bloomberg News, on November 1st, Uber Eats launched a new delivery segment: “Babies and Kids”, for those parents that are in urgent need of thermometers and diapers.
It is the latest addition in a series of verticals that have been introduced by Uber Technologies Inc, during this ongoing pandemic, which also comprises delivering flowers, alcohol, and prescriptions, and groceries.
Uber is entering into a partnership with the national brands that include Buy Buy BABY and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. The company is also into building high-class partnerships with direct-to-consumer firms, like the organic baby food brand Yumi.
Starting June through August there were more than 20,000 searches for baby supplies on the Uber Eats app for diapers, wipes, baby food, as per Beryl Sanders, who is the head of partnerships for the new verticals for Uber Eats in Canada and the United States, reports Bloomberg News. Parenting sometimes requires an emergency need for a thermometer or a baby product.
The online baby product industry is expected to generate a revenue of $9.9 billion in 2021, as per Ibis World Inc. Beryl Sanders, however, would not comment on the amount of money the company has devoted to this category, except about a $200,000 donation to the Baby2Baby, which is responsible for providing necessary stuff to children living in poverty, is the primary investment Uber has made in the project.
The company is entering a field that is predominantly reined by Amazon.com Inc and other well-established brands delivering groceries like FreshDirect and Instacart Inc. According to some, it is going to be useful in the diapering world and is expected to solve an actual issue.
However, Uber Eats fees are also a factor. Not all may be able to afford the fees. According to Sanders, the charges for delivering will be the same as for any restaurant on the platform, which is between $1 and $5 and the products will essentially offer a wide array of options, including the ones like the well-known national chains like CVS and Walgreens.
She expects Uber Eats to be able to deliver much faster than the competitors like Instacart. Sanders says that Uber Eats has been developed on the concept of next-hour delivery. In such cases, it is difficult for the parents to wait.
Although, the internal enthusiasm for Baby and Kids, Sanders states that, it is not a major player in the delivery business of the company that recorded $12.9 billion in the second quarter, the third-quarter reports are on November 4th.
