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Ver en españolUber's delivery service, ordering restaurant meals, groceries and retail goods through the Uber Eats app and delivering them with Uber's courier network.
At a glance
Uber Eats charges restaurants and stores a commission per order, with tiers that buy more visibility, and charges customers delivery and service fees. It sells restaurant food, grocery, convenience and retail, and also earns from advertising such as sponsored listings, from the Uber One membership, and from Uber Direct delivery for merchants' own channels.
Uber Eats started as UberFRESH in Santa Monica, California, in August 2014 and was renamed in 2015.
WikipediaUber's Delivery segment had 27.463 billion dollars of gross bookings in the second quarter of 2026, up 26 percent year over year.
Business Wire (Uber)In its first quarter 2026 results, Uber reported 50 million Uber One members, who drove half of its gross bookings across mobility and delivery.
Uber Q1 2026 earnings releaseUber Eats shut down in Italy on July 15, 2023, saying the business had not grown enough to be sustainable.
The Local ItalyIn May 2025 Uber agreed to buy an 85 percent stake in Turkish delivery app Trendyol Go for 700 million dollars in cash.
BloombergIn May 2026 Uber raised its stake in Delivery Hero to 19.5 percent of issued capital, plus a further 5.6 percent in options.
Pulse 2.0How they won
What they did, why it worked, and how you can run the same move in one city on a small budget.
01
What they did
Uber built Eats on top of its existing driver network and app framework rather than from scratch. A Toronto team built the standalone app in a 100 day sprint, starting from a lunchtime experiment with preloaded meals in cars.
Why it worked
Drivers, payments and customers were already in place, so Uber could test cheaply, learn fast and scale city by city.
Copy it locally
If you already run a taxi, courier or restaurant business, use your existing drivers and customer list as the base for a delivery app. Test one neighborhood and a short menu at lunchtime before going citywide.
02
What they did
Uber One bundles benefits across rides and delivery. By early 2026 it had 50 million members, who generated half of Uber's gross bookings.
Why it worked
Members who pay a fee consolidate their spending on Uber, which lifts order frequency and makes customers less likely to switch apps.
Copy it locally
Create a simple paid membership that covers everything you sell in your city, such as free delivery on food and groceries plus member-only deals. Keep the price low and make cancelling easy.
03
What they did
In 2021 Uber Eats introduced Lite, Plus and Premium plans for US restaurants at 15, 25 and 30 percent commission. Higher tiers added homepage placement, membership benefits and matched ad spend.
Why it worked
Restaurants that objected to one high fee could pick a cheaper plan, while those wanting more orders paid for visibility.
Copy it locally
Offer two or three plans: a low commission plan with basic listing and a higher plan with featured placement and promotions. It makes your pricing easier to sell to skeptical restaurants.
04
What they did
Uber turned its apps into an ad channel, with sponsored listings on Uber Eats as a main driver plus sponsored items for grocery and retail brands. Its advertising business passed a 1 billion dollar annual run rate in mid 2024.
Why it worked
Ads earn high-margin revenue from merchants who want to stand out, without raising prices for customers.
Copy it locally
Sell featured spots on your home screen and category pages to local restaurants and stores at a flat weekly price. Even a handful of paying merchants can cover a meaningful share of running costs.
Where they are weak
Every giant has blind spots. These are the ones a focused local operator can turn into an advantage.
In March 2026 Uber Eats raised US marketplace fees, lifting its Lite delivery tier from 15 to 20 percent and some custom rates by 3 points. Uber said the money would be reinvested to drive demand, but restaurants pay more per order.
Source: Restaurant DiveUber Eats closed in Italy in 2023 after seven years, saying the business had not grown enough to be sustainable against strong rivals. A global platform focused on being first or second in a market may leave smaller cities and countries underserved.
Source: The Local ItalyIn April 2025 the US FTC sued Uber, alleging people were enrolled in Uber One without consent and that cancelling was hard. Uber denied the claims and said cancelling now takes seconds in the app.
Source: KCRG (Associated Press)Build it with Ordering.co
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Ordering.co is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Uber Eats. Names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used here for commentary and education. Facts come from the public sources listed on this page, checked in October 2026.
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