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Uber Eats Advertising

By: Madison Simpkins    November 26, 2019

Most consumers view Uber as a platform used to catch a ride when driving isn’t an option. However, the company has grown beyond ride-sharing and has since expanded its business with Uber Eats to take on big names, including Grubhub and DoorDash, in the food delivery market. According to recent reports, Uber is now making plans to offer advertising services, which could become a huge marketing opportunity in the future.

TechCrunch was the first to discover a prototype of Uber Eats ads, called Specials, where restaurants could get featured placement in exchange for offering a discount. This demonstrated Uber’s ability to steer users toward ordering from specific restaurants. The potential for Eats ads stems from Uber’s place as a destination for choosing what to eat, not just ordering it.

Having Uber enter the advertising space could create new opportunities to reach potential customers. Since people who are using Uber Eats are already primed and ready to order some food, it’s the perfect place to show an ad or offer a discount. It’s easy to see how this can be an extremely helpful tool for any eatery in ideal circumstances.

Wherever there is discovery, there are opportunities for paid discovery. And as Uber focuses on cross-promoting Eats within its main ride-hailing app, it could attract more users who are open to suggestions that restaurants pay to provide. Restaurants hoping to boost orders could pay to appear to users who are searching for food options, or to appear before competitors.

It may be several months before any beta tests begin. However, it’s clear that Uber will try its hands at generating revenue from ads. It’s a no-brainer for Uber to try this tactic seeing as it has an app and a service that’s used by millions of people every day. Once Uber Eats ads are ready to roll out, restaurant owners and marketers will have a useful tool to reach new potential customers.