Uber launches 'fast fashion' delivery service Down Under

Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci says “15 minutes is the new black” as Uber join forces with logistics company Shippit to allow retailers like CUE, Sephora, Kathmandu, Big W, Target, Super Retail Group and Harvey Norman to deliver within the hour in the same way as food.

The deal comes as Uber’s booming delivery business overtakes its ride-sharing platform for the first time, amid an escalating battle over last mile delivery between global players including Amazon, Uber and Doordash; local players including Menulog, Deliveroo and Australia Post; and new players such as Milkrun, Voly and Send.

Amazon Flex have introduced their own delivery fleet in Australia while start-up Wing, owned by Google’s owner Alphabet, launched a pilot program with Coles last week to deliver groceries by drone to several suburbs in Canberra from their “dark warehouses” within minutes.

Speaking to The Australian Financial Review at the Business Summit, Woolworths CEO Mr Banducci said that “15 minutes is the new black”. Woolworths and Coles also partner with Uber to deliver basic shopping and liquor while Deliveroo and Menulog offer similar services for a limited offering of groceries.

“Once consumers’ expectations lower to 15 minutes, you can never go back,” Mr Banducci said, citing the battle over the last mile as the top issue for retailers and supermarkets.

The convenience economy is estimated to have surged to more than $650 billion globally – over two billion people purchased goods or services online in 2020 – with Asia Pacific the largest regional parcels market by value, accounting for around 42 per cent of that market, a new report by consultants WSP finds.

Australians spent a record $50 billion online in 2020 and the value of the purchases has doubled as buyers become more comfortable buying online.

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott agreed the battle over the last mile delivery was at the front of mind for most businesses but presented a major challenge on emissions and congestion.

“As this last mile freight task grows, we all have a responsibility to make sure delivery workers are kept safe, and that we are not adding to traffic congestion or vehicle emissions,” she said, commenting on the WSP report.

Shippit – a platform that manages and tracks deliveries for retailers – said their orders booked using same-day delivery have increased 234 per cent this year and delivery now accounted for 51 per cent of Uber’s bookings, overtaking its ride-sharing business for the first time.

Shippit’s integration with Uber means their clients will be able to access Uber’s more than 55,000 riders and drivers to offer next-hour delivery. Delivery quotes and estimated time of arrival will be viewable in their shopping cart and packages tracked using real-time GPS in the same way as consumer track their food deliveries.

“We saw an explosion in e-commerce through COVID with online sales up 60 per cent and continued strong growth this year. The consumer trend for immediacy and ultra-convenience is here to stay,” general manager of retail for Uber Eats Lucas Groeneveld told The Australian Financial Review.