San Francisco-based ride share company Uber recently unveiled a series of new platform features, some of which were centered around Uber Eats, at its Go-Get event in New York City on May 17, reports news and analysis company PYMNTS. The announcement includes upgrades to the family and group grocery shopping options and payment experience options.
The move follows in the footsteps of Instacart’s group grocery features, but with added features that focus on payment simplicity and convenience.
Uber’s strategy behind streamlining payments for group orders comes on the heels of Instacart launching its “Family Cart'' feature in 2022 as part of its Instacart+ subscription. Subscribers are able to share Instacart+ with another person for free and are able to shop together to make ordering easier.
Unlike Instacart and DoorDash, where group ordering payments can’t be split among users, the new Uber group feature does allow for those shared payments, according to PYMNTS.
In an accompanying blog post, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi laid out the details for the new group orders feature which includes:
- Family profiles and teen accounts: Allowing families to link multiple Uber accounts together — so rides and deliveries can be paid from a centralized account
- Group grocery orders: Uber Eats now allows users to invite participants to add their own items to a shared cart, set deadlines for when to add items, and automatically split the bill at most stores
- Video gift messaging: Users can now record a unique video message to accompany an Uber Eats gift card
