Uber Eats announces growth: App now covers 90% of UK population

Uber Eats in the UK has announced its latest growth figures, revealing the app has grown exponentially over the past year to cover 90% of the UK population, and is the most downloaded food and drink app in the UK in Q1 2021.

While Uber’s global food delivery business grew 150% YoY in Q1, growth in the UK and the rest of Europe exceeded that level.

Uber Eats is now available to as many people as have fibre optic broadband in the UK with plans to expand to further by the end of the year.

Since the beginning of the global pandemic, over 25,000 new UK restaurants have joined the app, with food delivery becoming a lifeline for businesses during lockdown.

Outside of the restaurant offering, grocery has become one of the fastest growing sectors on the app. New partnerships with Asda, Sainsbury’s, Iceland, and McColl’s helped fuel the growth in this sector as customers sought contact-free delivery of staple grocery and convenience items.

As the lockdown in the UK has begun to lift, Uber Eats has also launched a new product, Dine In, which allows restaurants to receive in-person orders through the app, enabling contactless ordering and payment processes.

To help restaurants during the pandemic, Uber Eats put in place a number of measures to support the hospitality industry, investing over £5 million to reduce fees on the app.

These measures included waiving activation fees to get restaurants onto the app more quickly, helping with cash flow by offering payouts daily rather than weekly, and offering 0% commission on orders customers picked by themselves to encourage strong local businesses.

Sunjiv Shah, General Manager of Uber Eats, UK and Ireland said: “2020 was a year like no other, and we’ve seen substantial change in the hospitality and grocery industries as a result. This was a difficult time for restaurants so it was important for us to play our part in helping thousands of restaurants access new customers and adapt their businesses. As the nation comes out of lockdown, we’ll continue to ensure people can order their favourite restaurant meals at home and help them with their essential shopping no matter where they live.”