Food for Thought: Listening to and learning from restaurants
Written byThe past few months have significantly reshaped our lives, and this is especially true for restaurant owners. We are inspired by their commitment to keeping kitchens running, plates full, and customers satisfied despite all the uncertainty of what’s to come. Uber Eats is also committed to building products that bring true, measurable value to restaurants, which is all the more important during these unprecedented times.
That’s why we’ve worked with Technomic, an industry leader, to better understand how the restaurants that use Uber Eats think about third-party delivery, what they’ve valued most from us in recent months, and what we should be doing differently.
The insights, collected in June through surveys and interviews of over 400 restaurant owners across the US and Canada are clear: restaurants are increasingly relying on Uber Eats in ways they haven’t before. Delivery has become a lifeline to reach new and existing customers, increase revenue, and grow and maintain their businesses during the pandemic. The full white paper is available here, and findings include:
- 82% of restaurant operators say Uber Eats has been crucial to business during COVID-19
- 75% of operators said that they would have had to close their business if not for Uber Eats.
- 81% would have had to lay off staff members if not for third-party delivery
- Uber Eats partners report more impact from Eats than others during the crisis, including a larger increase in sales. Some partners saw sales increase by more than 40%
- More than two-thirds of operators surveyed consider Uber Eats to be their preferred delivery partner
- 92% of operators report that they plan to continue working with third-party delivery services post crisis, including 88% of those that joined recently
- 92% of restaurants surveyed said Eats provided proactive support like waiving consumer delivery fees and daily payout options during the crisis
Technomic’s findings remind us of the importance of listening to, learning from, and building for the needs of restaurants.
Today, we are announcing a series of new products and programs built in response to restaurant feedback from across the US and around the world.
Online Ordering on your Website
We’ve heard loud and clear that restaurants are looking for more flexible and affordable ways to partner with Eats. Today we’re launching a US pilot that will let Uber Eats restaurants add online ordering to their websites—either for pickup or delivery powered by Uber Eats—with no commission paid to Uber through the end of 2020. Restaurants are only responsible for payment processing costs.
Uber Eats Manager App
Because we know restaurant operators are busier than ever—and that real life doesn’t happen on a desktop computer—we’re launching a new mobile app to help managers stay on top of their delivery business and improve sales volume by tracking sales, trends, and goals, even while they’re on the go
Customer Engagement Tools
Restaurant managers tell us that consistently receiving—and responding to—feedback helps them extend dining room hospitality into the homes of customers, which is more important now than ever. That’s why we’ve created new tools both on the web and inside the new Restaurant Manager app to help restaurants respond to customer comments quickly, including easily offering future discounts if something goes wrong.
Customer Insights Dashboard
Restaurants tell us driving demand is consistently their #1 priority. New customer insights in the Uber Eats Restaurant Manager dashboard will help restaurants better understand how consumers interact with their storefront on Eats—from the home feed to the menu to building a cart and checking out—giving them unique insights into their business and what drives customer decisions. We’re committed to increasing these actionable insights over time.
Top Eats
When hungry people turn to Uber Eats, they look for the Top Eats badge for experiences that are always tasty and reliable. In fact, Top Eats restaurants see on average 6% more sales on average. Now we’re bringing our partners in on the criteria that earn them Top Eats status—the first step in achieving it—just by consistently excelling at top-notch hospitality.
Commission-Free Pickup
Because we know pickup will continue to be an important revenue source for restaurants in the coming months given ongoing health concerns and restrictions around dine-in, we are extending a commitment we made in March when lockdowns began. Through the end of 2020, we’ll waive all restaurant fees on any Uber Eats pickup orders in the US & Canada.
As we roll out these new products, we’ll continue to listen to, learn from, and build for restaurants—because we’re committed to true partnership, in both normal and “new normal” times.