UberEATS, the latest standalone mobile app meant to market Uber’s food restaurant delivery business, has been unveiled in the United States. The app was launched in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and Chicago.
The company says that plans are underway to unveil UberEATS in other cities including New York, Washington D.C, Dallas, Atlanta, and Austin. New York’s launch is scheduled to take place sometime next week.
When Uber ventured into the food delivery market, it incorporated the feature to order food in its other apps such as UberBLACK and UberX which were primarily meant to order cars. Now, Uber says that ordering food and a ride are two different experiences, hence the launch of UberEATS as a standalone app.
Earlier this month, UberEATS began in Toronto and scooped the number 4 spot in the food apps category on the day it was unveiled. The mobile application launch in the United States will now enable users to order full menus from hundreds of restaurants. Alternatively, users can opt to order a quick bite off the Instant Delivery menu, which features menus that can be ordered from restaurants more quickly.
Despite being launched in multiple cities, only users from Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles will access full menus for now. Users from other cities will have to do with UberEATS Instant Delivery but will access the full menus feature once their regions go fully online.
UberEATS allows users to browse for popular dishes from local restaurants. Users can also search for cuisine from their favorite restaurant as long it is supported by the app. As you go through the restaurants, UberEATS will show you the time it will take for your order to arrive. Once you’ve placed an order, you can watch the driver’s progression on the map so you’ll know exactly when your meal arrives.
Uber says it is using the same strategy used by social media giant Facebook to market UberEATS. When Facebook launched Messenger as a standalone app, it guided the users of the primary application to download Messenger from App Store as they navigated the “chat” section. In a similar manner, Uber is instructing the users of flagship apps such as UberX and UberBLACK to download UberEATS from the App Store.
Drumming up support for UberEATS, Jason Droege, the head of UberEverything wrote in a statement, “Because an Uber driver is never more than a few minutes away, as soon as the food’s ready it’s on its way.” He is hopeful the new app will be well received in the U.S.