Smartphones are already an extension of the human being, at least in most countries around the world. And one of the most used tools is apps. Now, Uber aims to unify several apps into a single one to facilitate the user experience.
“Use Uber more frequently and have 35% higher retention rates than single-platform consumers”
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wants to control the entire market for what’s on the go. Versatility is paying off. During the pandemic, the rise of Uber Eats helped offset empty backseats caused by a lack of requests. Khosrowshahi revealed that customers who use both Uber’s ridesharing and delivery services “use Uber more frequently and have 35% higher retention rates than single-platform consumers. As a result, multi-platform consumers generate more than three times as much gross bookings and profit as their single-platform peers.”
“What we’re looking for is the best of both worlds: a highly optimized mobility app”
The goal of these types of companies is to ensure that consumers make the effort as minimal as possible, in other words, to make their lives as easy as possible. As we noted earlier, the pace of life has changed significantly since the pandemic, and delivery companies have taken advantage of this. “Larger, more sophisticated AI models are also improving our ability to foster cross-platform activity for the right consumers at the right time—for example, grabbing a coffee on the way to the office or having their groceries delivered to their vacation rental,” Khosrowshahi wrote.
Therefore, the app’s goal is to continue along these lines. “What we’re looking for is the best of both worlds: a highly optimized mobility app and a delivery app that interact with each other and dedicate specific moments to promoting each other, rather than a blanket promotion that, to some extent, can seem anti-consumer,” said the Uber CEO.
“The company’s self-driving taxis in Austin and Atlanta are enjoying resounding success in terms of utilization”
Since Khosrowshahi arrived, coming from a senior position at Expedia, the idea was to identify what was wrong with Uber and try to increase revenue and improve services. “When I joined, Uber Eats represented less than 10% of revenue; it was secondary. Now it’s 50%. And we’re seeing that customers are using both products, and drivers are sometimes also delivering food or groceries. This is driving greater interest in the platform, allowing us to move faster than the competition,” the CEO said in an interview.
On the other hand, the CEO recently said that the company’s self-driving taxis in Austin and Atlanta are enjoying resounding success in terms of utilization. “The average Waymo has more traffic than 99% of our drivers in terms of trips completed per day,” he stated, adding that “I think commercialization will take time.”
Self-driving cars are a reality in the daily lives of many Americans
And autonomous taxis are already a reality in many cities, with Elon Musk being one of the pioneers in this field. Khosrowshahi said that Waymo “utilizes Uber’s core capability, which is dispatching jobs to people around the world. You’ll see a different kind of person working for the exciting AI developments being seen around the world.”
What’s clear is that tech companies are making huge strides. As soon as a new update is released, scientists are already finishing the next one. This happens in smartphones, apps, cars… For example, although in some countries it’s still a distant prospect, self-driving cars are a reality in the daily lives of many Americans. For others, it remains science fiction.
