UberEats to ride with its main app in India

BENGALURU: Uber has started testing a new super-app interface in India that integrates food delivery and ride hailing, multiple people familiar with the matter said. This will give customers an option to pick Rides or Eats with equal visibility — a prominent way to direct a rides customer to order food. The push to make Eats as prominent as rides comes just months after talks to sell its India food delivery business to Swiggy fell through.

The move also indicates that the company plans to actively cross-sell different properties, beginning with nudging its riders to also become eaters.

Uber plans to launch the revamped app, which is currently in test phase, by early next year in India, and upsell a combined subscription service to customers. This is expected to ensure retention for both businesses and lower customer acquisition costs. “The intent is to convert riders into eaters, and increase revenue and frequency per customer,” said one person aware of the plans. It is also in line with Uber’s platform approach, a global initiative at the San Francisco-based company.