Fast Just Got Faster for Supermarkets with UberRUSH

After successful tests in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco, on-demand delivery service UberRUSH has officially opened, and many are wondering if it will be the killer app that threatens InstaCart.

This API is available to any online merchant operating in an UberRUSH city to add a same-day delivery option to their own online shopping platform.

According to Deloitte and as reported in Business Insider, 96 percent of US consumers consider same- or next-day delivery to be fast, whereas 63 percent of consumers consider three- to four-day shipping to be fast. A recent Boston Retail Partners survey also find related insights, including:

• Only 9 percent of North American retailers currently offer same-day delivery and believe it is working well
• 13 percent have implemented a same-day delivery program and think it needs improvement
• 29 percent plan to implement it in the next three years
• And surprisingly, 49 percent have no plans at all to offer same-day delivery as a fulfillment option

This is a huge opportunity for supermarkets to finally take back the shopper relationship from third parties like Amazon, Fresh Direct and InstaCart and fight retailer agnosticism. 

Business Insider’s Report, "Same Day Delivery and The Last Mile," underscores the importance of the potential of this service for retailers:

BI Intelligence estimates that 2% percent of shoppers living in cities where same-day delivery is offered have used such services. In dollar terms, we estimate that roughly $100 million worth of merchandise will be delivered via same-day fulfillment this year in 20 U.S. cities.

Consumer interest in same-day delivery is already fairly high. Four in 10 U.S. shoppers said they would use same-day delivery if they didn't have time to go to the store, and one in four shoppers said they would considering abandoning an online shopping cart if same-day delivery was not an option.

The most common same-day delivery shopper fits a very specific profile – Millennial, highly likely to be male, urban-dwelling and young. The products people want delivered same-day are also fairly niche.

Many supermarkets have struggled with delivery – not if or when, but how. This latest offering from the lifestyle company Uber might just make that decision a bit easier.