In a new membership push, Uber has unveiled the all-service membership program Uber One. The new program, launched in mid-November and bundles perks for food delivery, rides, grocery delivery and all manner of Uber services.
Julie Kim, director of membership marketing globally at the company, said the program is a way to enhance loyalty but also flex the multi-modal Uber muscle to provide more value for members.
“Whatever the new normal is as we reemerge, we do know that a lot of behaviors and expectations have shifted,” said Kim. “As we expand into grocery and retail, it really becomes a broader use case of relevancy across everyday living.”
For $9.99 a month or $99 a year, members get a handful of core perks: member pricing of 5 percent off eligible rides and delivery, free delivery on food orders of $15 or more and grocery orders of $30 or more, priority rideshare service from top-rated drivers. It also has a $5 cash-back promise for any deliveries that don’t meet the estimate at time of ordering.
Kim said there will also be novel perks just for Uber customers including special offers and exclusive experiences.
“We’re in the process of fleshing out what the formal program will be on the perks. But it will lean into the anchors we have in the evergreen benefits. We’re leaning heavy into rides, food and grocery delivery, so the perks are really sweeteners on top of that,” said Kim.
For example, a customer gets a promo item via grocery and cook along with a celebrity chef virtually. Maybe a customer’s favorite delivery restaurant has a date-night deal and gets a ride on Uber. Both are examples, but between rides, food delivery, grocery and alcohol, there is a lot of potential for fun perks and lean on Uber proclivities.
“Whether that’s events or getting around town more easily. What are the surprise-and-delight behaviors we can add to that?” pondered Kim. “Really the basis of our membership program is anchoring on where we have strength. In the long run, it’s making sure there are broader benefits.”
As CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during the latest Uber earnings call, the company is pushing hard in memberships.
“Membership now, we have over 6 million members globally. It accounts for more than 20 percent of our gross bookings,” said Khosrowshahi. “We think all of those numbers can increase pretty significantly. We continue to see really good engagement from members. On the Eats side, Eats members, their trips per month increased by over 50 percent, members versus nonmembers. Even basket sizes are higher.”
He said the company is “very, very early” in the process and his remarks came just ahead of the Uber One launch. But he envisions creating more active membership markets like Taiwan.
“I would point to one market, Taiwan, where members account for greater than 50 percent of gross bookings. So we absolutely believe we can get there. And members now in Taiwan are eating with us 15 times per month, which is three times a non-member,” said Khosrowshahi. “That’s the kind of engagement that you can start getting with a service that becomes an everyday part of your use case. And I think, we’re just scratching the surface here.”
For restaurant operators, there are benefits as well. Those who sign on for the program and get an Uber One icon (a similar process to being part of Uber Eats), get access to that active subset of Uber customers and build upon some of the coming perks.
