Uber flips food delivery on its head to keep you coming back

“Commuters tell us, I’m willing to wait and walk if you’re going to give me a deal, and if you help me save money on my daily commute,” he said.

“We don’t want to just get complacent on what’s happening right now. We want to ask users, OK, what are the problems we can solve in addition to what we may already be doing?”

Restaurants will not need to be on Uber Eats or pay Uber to feature deals on the app, but will shoulder the discount they choose. Dine Out is set to roll out in Sydney in June (a date has not yet been set), with Melbourne to follow shortly after.

Uber’s reign in Australia continues

Uber Australia and New Zealand managing director Ed Kitchen said Australia, with over 10 million users, had always been an innovation test bed for the company. Uber dominates Australia’s rideshare and food delivery market, where competitors like Deliveroo, Foodora, Ola and GoCatch have failed.

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“We have a great role to play with our technology and our engaged customer base, where we can really benefit these restaurants and fill table booking times where they potentially haven’t been able to, but also potentially offer up a new demographic,” Kitchen said.

Sydney restaurant Catalina is one of the first restaurants to partner with Uber for Dine Out.

Catalina director Judy McMahon said she was initially sceptical about Dine Out, but the opportunity to reach a new customer base appealed.

“You know, I wouldn’t have looked at it years ago, but I do see it as a way forward, I think it’s smart,” McMahon said.

While Catalina is a 30-year-old Sydney institution, competition with trendy new restaurants is fierce and overheads such as wages, rent and ingredients have risen, McMahon said. The change of season also has an impact.

“I’m going into winter, I know I’m going to be quieter, I am every year,” said McMahon. “It costs me the same to service 50 customers as it does to service 100, so why wouldn’t I do the 100, some of whom are getting a decent whack off their bill?”

Merchants have the flexibility to decide the discount they are willing to offer and can tailor it according to the day or time of the week.

McMahon hasn’t decided the size of the discount she wants to offer, but is contemplating 20-25 per cent off between Monday and Thursday.

“Friday lunch used to be the big deal, the big ticket day of the week … it’s not any more,” she said. “I would love to be looking in at winter and just seeing a full restaurant during the week.”

The reporter travelled to New York as a guest of Uber.

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