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Uber rolls into online grocery delivery arena

Cornershop investment paves way for U.S. market launch

Russell Redman

July 7, 2020

3 Min Read
Cornershop personal shopper in store
Customers in selected cities can now order groceries through the Uber and Uber Eats apps and have them delivered by Cornershop personal shoppers.Cornershop

Uber Technologies has leveraged its ownership in e-grocery delivery startup Cornershop to launch on-demand grocery delivery service in selected Latin American and Canadian cities.

San Francisco-based Uber said Tuesday that consumers in those cities can now order groceries through the Uber and Uber Eats mobile apps and have them delivered by Cornershop personal shoppers. Users will be able to track their grocery delivery at each step of the process, just as when ordering a ride through Uber or a meal via Uber Eats.

Plans call for the Uber-Cornershop grocery delivery service to debut later this month in selected U.S. markets, according to Uber.

Uber announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Santiago, Chile-based Cornershop in October. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The transaction is slated to be finalized “in the coming days,” Uber said. The companies noted that the service launch represents their first integrated grocery delivery experience.

“Today’s product integration marks an important step in our partnership with the team at Cornershop to bring grocery delivery to millions of consumers on the Uber platform,” Raj Beri, global head of grocery at Uber, said in a statement. “Uber started on the premise that people should be able to more easily get to the places they need to go and to people they care about. This has since evolved to connecting people to food from their favorite local restaurants, and we are thrilled to bring our product expertise to the world of grocery alongside the Cornershop team.”

Related:Uber Technologies to buy Postmates for $2.65 billion

Uber Eats delivery person.jpgUber Eats conducted pilots of grocery delivery internationally before the launch of the service with Cornershop. (Photo courtesy of Uber)

Uber said the debut of the Uber-Cornershop service follows grocery delivery experiments with more than 9,500 merchants in over 30 countries on Uber Eats, which has seen a 176% increase in grocery orders since February. After the Cornershop integration in select cities in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Canada, Uber plans to roll out service improvements to grocery shoppers and merchants globally throughout the summer and thereafter.

Cornershop’s service already was available in Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Brazil and Canada (including Toronto). Uber and Cornershop are still working to attain regulatory approval for their integrated service from Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE).

In May, Cornershop made its U.S. debut with the launch of grocery delivery service in Florida’s Miami-Dade County and Dallas, including the Texas metropolis’ northern suburbs. The company said its marketplace includes large supermarket chains and local food retailers, and customers can choose from scheduled and on-demand delivery options, including contactless delivery. Users also can subscribe to Cornershop POP, a membership option that offers free delivery on orders over $30, along with other discounts and benefits.

Related:Uber getting in grocery delivery game with Cornershop deal

“We launched Cornershop almost exactly five years ago today, and it’s hard to imagine a better way to celebrate our anniversary than joining forces with the best on-demand platform around. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Uber to take our mission to millions,” stated Oskar Hjertonsson, founder and CEO of Cornershop. “Uber is the perfect partner to bring on-demand groceries from incredible merchant partners at the touch of a button across the Americas.”

Hjertonsson founded Cornershop in 2015 with friends Daniel Undurraga and Juan Pablo Cuevas. Besides Uber, the company’s backers include venture capital firms Accel, ALLVP, Creandum and Jackson Square Ventures (JSV).

In September 2018, Walmart unveiled a $225 million deal to purchase Cornershop as part of efforts to extend its global omnichannel reach. But the transaction was rejected in June 2019 by Mexico’s COFECE, which cited competitive concerns.

Yesterday, Uber took a big step to expand its delivery capabilities with a $2.65 billion deal to acquire on-demand food delivery specialist Postmates.

Uber said the all-stock transaction, expected to close in first-quarter 2021, is “highly complementary” to Uber Eats and will significantly expand its service base of restaurants and other merchants, as well as further the company’s efforts in the delivery of groceries, essentials and other goods. Overall, Uber Eats provides on-demand delivery to more than 400,000 restaurants and merchants in over 6,000 cities across six continents.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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