Uber Eats Gauges Partner Satisfaction in ‘Merchant Impact Report’

Small and medium-size businesses that delivery platform works with include local grocery stores

4/26/2024

85% of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses partnering with Uber Eats agreed that it provided opportunities for delivery that they wouldn’t have been able to handle in-house.

According to Uber Eats’ recently released 2023 “Merchant Impact Report,” in the past year alone, Uber Eats drove billions of dollars in orders to local restaurants, grocery, retail, alcohol and convenience stores across the United States and Canada, and it helped its merchant partners make deliveries to more than 50 million customers. As a result, U.S. and Canadian merchants earned $15 billion-plus in sales through Uber Eats last year.

In a reflection of a still rocky economic landscape, U.S. and Canada small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), including grocers, told Uber Eats that their primary concern was the impact of inflation on food and employment costs. Uber Eats’ report found that just this past year, 84% (U.S.) and 85% (Canada) of the merchants that work with the service felt that Uber Eats gives them access to an additional revenue stream.

Further, SMB merchants reported that Uber Eats is a major driver of higher revenue and profitability for them, particularly in a changing economic climate. The service’s data showed that among merchants:

81% (U.S.) and 83% (Canada) said that using Uber Eats has increased their revenue since joining the platform; of those who said that their revenue has grown, the median increase was 10% in both the United States and Canada.
89% (U.S.) and 91% (Canada) anticipated that their revenue from Uber Eats would stay the same or increase in the next year.
81% (U.S.) and 83% (Canada) said that their businesses were more profitable with Uber Eats than they would have been without it.
71% (U.S.) and 70% (Canada) felt that Uber Eats had a positive impact on their business’ ability to navigate current economic challenges.

Merchants also appreciated how Uber Eats boosts their reach and visibility, helping them attract new customers:

85% (U.S.) and 83% (Canada) agreed that Uber Eats provided opportunities for delivery that they wouldn’t have been able to handle in-house.
78% (U.S.) and 82% (Canada) agreed that Uber Eats raised their business’s brand visibility and recognition.
81% (U.S.) and 86% (Canada) agreed that Uber Eats provided greater geographic coverage to reach new customers.
81% (U.S.) and 86% (Canada) said that Uber Eats helped increase their business’s ability to reach new customers they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach.

Overall, SMBs approved of Uber Eats’ impact on their businesses, even compared with other delivery apps, and they expressed their intention to continue working with Uber Eats for this reason:

85% (U.S.) and 83% (Canada) reported that offering delivery or pickup services with Uber Eats has benefited their business.
79% (U.S.) and 81% (Canada) were likely to recommend using Uber Eats to other businesses.
93% (U.S.) and 93% (Canada) said that they planned to keep working with Uber Eats a year from now.
87% (U.S.) and 91% (Canada) described their Uber Eats experience as positive versus other online delivery platforms.

Additionally, Uber contributed $1 million this past year across the United States and Europe to help merchants buy, and boost their use of, more sustainable packaging materials through the company’s Grants for Growth Program. The partnership aims to make it easier for small and medium-sized restaurants to transition to reusable packaging, which industry research has shown is important to consumers and restaurants. The company also continued to offer merchants new tools to gain deeper insights into their business.

Part of San Francisco-based transportation company Uber, Uber Eats partners with more than 1 million restaurants and merchants in more than 11,000 cities across six continents.