Uber adds student discount, restaurant lists in latest product rollout

Dive Brief:

Uber rolled out Uber One for Students, which offers students a discounted membership at $4.99 per month compared to $9.99, the company said in a post Wednesday as part of its Go-Get 2024 product rollout.
Students, who can also get Uber One for $48 per year, will receive member-only discounts like $0 delivery, special deals and free items from chains like Domino’s, Starbucks and Taco Bell.
In addition to the student discount, Uber Eats rolled out Lists, a feature that allows users to create curated and shareable lists of restaurants. This feature will initially be available in July in New York City and Chicago and will expand to more cities in the near future, the company wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive.

Dive Insight:

Student discounts aren’t new to the delivery segment. These offerings can help capture consumers at a younger age and build brand loyalty that could last beyond college. It also helps attract more Gen Z consumers, a cohort that widely uses third-party delivery apps. From now until fall, Uber One for Students will roll out across the U.S., Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and New Mexico, Danielle Sheridan, head of global membership at Uber, said Wednesday during the Go-Get event.

DoorDash previously added its own discounted membership programs for students at $4.99 per month, while Grubhub offers Grubhub+ to students for free through graduation.

Outside of its Go-Get launches, Uber Eats has been working to expand its reach, and partnered with Instacart last week. That partnership will add a “restaurant” tab to the Instacart app, allowing Uber Eats to capture customers who aren’t already on its platform. The technology used via this partnership integrates with Uber Eats and Uber, which could be leveraged into similar partnerships in the future, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a prepared statement on Q1 earnings.

The delivery company has also been growing delivery gross bookings, which were up 17% year over year during the first quarter. Monthly active delivery platform consumers also grew in Uber’s top markets, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and order frequency reached all-time highs during the quarter. The company also added various products including Live Location Sharing. This feature allows consumers to share their location so couriers can drop off goods and food faster, Khosrowshahi said.