Uber Eats was one of several experimental services trialled in 2014, as then-CEO Travis Kalanick tried to use the company’s ride-sharing platform to break into other transportation sectors.
Originally, Uber Eats delivered a fixed price menu in a small Santa Monica, California test area. The service soon expanded to include Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, and more local restaurants were invited to join. Within a year, Uber Eats was available in Barcelona, New York, and Chicago.
Uber has held first position in many countries for food delivery, although it has had to scale back in the past few years. It ended service in South Korea and India in 2019 and in several Eastern European countries in 2020. It also entered into an agreement with Russian search engine Yandex to leave Russia.
In its home market, Uber has been in fierce competition with DoorDash, which surpassed Grubhub to become the most popular food delivery service in 2019. Uber bolstered its position in July 2020 with the acquisition of Postmates for $2.65 billion.
Even though Uber takes a cut of between 20 to 30 percent of all orders, it has yet to make a profit. The argument made by Uber is once it has expanded enough and the market has stabilised, Eats will be profitable, but investors are worried that even in the pandemic, when Uber saw its gross bookings triple, it still failed to generate a profit.
That said, Uber Eats has reported lower losses year-on-year, so potentially as the market consolidates, it may reach a point of profitability.
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Download ReportUber Eats (and other food delivery services) are attempting to reduce costs further through the use of “dark kitchens”, which are set up by restaurants in cheaper locations and only focus on delivery. Uber recently announced it would stop providing the real-estate for these kitchens, but it has paved the way for many chain restaurants to use them.
In 2020, Eats became central to sustaining the business, as Uber’s ride hailing platform saw 50 percent less revenue than a year ago. Eats has generated more revenue than its Mobility segment since Q2 2020, although Uber expects ride hailing to overtake food delivery as several key countries return to normality.
We’ve collected data and statistics on Uber Eats. Read below to find out more.
Uber Eats key statistics
- Uber Eats generated $4.8 billion in revenue in 2020, a 152 percent increase year-on-year
- Uber Eats gross bookings surpassed $30 billion in 2020
- Internationally, Uber Eats is the most popular food delivery service, with 66 million users
- It controls 29 percent of the global food delivery market (Fortune)
- Uber Eats is available in 6,000 cities, with 600,000 supported restaurants
Uber Eats overview
| Launch date | August 2014 |
| HQ | San Francisco, California |
| People | Dara Khosrowshahi (CEO), Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty (Uber VP, Deliveries) |
| Business type | Subsidiary |
| Parent company | Uber |
| Industry | Food delivery |
Uber Eats revenue
| Year | Revenue |
| 2017 | $0.6 billion |
| 2018 | $1.5 billion |
| 2019 | $1.9 billion |
| 2020 | $4.8 billion |
Sources: Business Insider, CNBC, Bloomberg, Uber
Uber Eats gross bookings
| Year | Gross bookings |
| 2017 | $3.1 billion |
| 2018 | $7.9 billion |
| 2019 | $14.5 billion |
| 2020 | $30.2 billion |
Uber Eats users
| Year | Users |
| 2016 | 5 million |
| 2017 | 9 million |
| 2018 | 15 million |
| 2019 | 21 million |
| 2020 | 66 million |
Sources: Eater, Skift, ZDNet, Uber
Note: Uber does not break out MAUs. In its Q4 results, it said it had 93 million MAUs across all platforms, with double digit growth in Deliveries. The 2020 figure is an estimate based on that information.
Uber Eats cities available
| Year | Cities available |
| 2017 | 120 |
| 2018 | 200 |
| 2019 | 500 |
| 2020 | 1,000 |
| 2021 | 6,000 |
Source: Uber
Uber Eats supported restaurants
| Year | Supported Restaurants |
| 2017 | 80,000 |
| 2018 | 100,000 |
| 2019 | 220,000 |
| 2020 | 600,000 |
Source: Uber
Uber Eats yearly average user spend
| Year | Average User Spend |
| 2017 | $141 |
| 2018 | $220 |
Source: Rakuten
Uber Eats US food delivery marketshare (%)
| Year | US marketshare |
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 24 |
| 2019 | 21 |
| 2020 | 30 (with Postmates) |
Uber Eats marketshare vs US competitors
Sources: Forbes, Rakuten, Fortune, QZ, Second Measure, FT, CNBC
Uber Eats revenue vs competitors
Note: Just-Eat Takeaway revenue includes Grubhub. Uber Eats revenue includes Postmates.
Uber Eats FAQ
What is the average Uber Eats delivery time?
The average Uber Eats order takes 30 minutes
What is Uber Eats valuation?
Uber Eats has been valued at $20 billion (WSJ), although that has most likely increased in 2020
What is the most popular delivery request on Uber Eats?
The most popular delivery request in the US is no onion, followed by extra sauce and no tomatoes
