Uber’s evolution from a car-hailing service to a delivery operation appears to be underway.
The San Francisco, California-based company is in talks with hundreds of big-name retailers for a same-day delivery program, TechCrunch reports. Some of the high-end brands talking to Uber about same-day delivery include Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s and Hugo Boss. The service would allow for quick in-city deliveries from retail locations to customers; it wouldn’t involve warehouse shipments.
Uber has experimented with rapid order delivery in the past, but now it appears for the first time to be working on a dedicated app for the service. Eventually, Uber plans to allow drivers to pick up human passengers and merchant cargo all from within the same app.
While expanding from moving people around cities to moving cargo might seem like a big change for Uber on the surface, it isn’t all that different in practice. Uber is best understood not as a ride-hailing service but as a logistics platform for short-haul trips, powered by big data and intelligent algorithms. It’s also investing heavily in driverless car technology, which could help it cut human drivers out of the equation entirely. Uber, then, is well-positioned to compete with the likes of UPS and FedEx when it comes to quick in-city deliveries.
French Taxi drivers burn tires as they protest in the southern city of Marseille on June 25, 2015 as they demonstrate against UberPOP, a popular taxi app that is facing fierce opposition from traditional cabs. Anne-Christine Poujoulat—AFP/Getty ImagesPolice officers in riot gear attempt to flip a car back onto it's wheels at Porte Maillot on June 25, 2015 in Paris. Protesters blocked roads to airports and train stations, overturning cars and setting tires on fire.Guillaume de Senneville—Demotix/CorbisHundreds of taxi drivers gather next to the Olympia Stadium to protest ride-sharing apps on June 11, 2014 in Berlin.Sean Gallup—Getty ImagesA demonstrator kicks a car, suspected of being a private taxi during a 24 hour taxi strike and protest in Madrid on June 11, 2014. Paul White—APA taxi driver listens to speeches by his colleagues, during an Europe-wide protest of licensed taxi drivers against taxi hailing apps that are feared to flush unregulated private drivers into the market, in front of the Olympic stadium in Berlin on June 11, 2014. Thomas Peter—ReutersTaxi drivers hold a banner during a protest in Barcelona on June 11, 2014. Josep Lago—AFP/Getty ImagesLondon taxi's line up on The Mall during a protest against a new smart phone app, 'Uber' on June 11, 2014 in London.Dan Kitwood—Getty ImagesTaxi drivers park their cars and honk the horn in protest on Pennsylvania Avenue, bringing street traffic to a stop as they demand an end to ride sharing services such as Uber X and Lyft on June 25, 2014, in Washington.PAUL J. RICHARDS—AFP/Getty ImagesAn Italian taxi driver distributes leaflets reading "Don't take an illegal taxi, take a white regular taxi" during a protest on June 11, 2014 in Rome.ANDREAS SOLARO—AFP/Getty ImagesTaxis drivers block a highway outside Paris, near Roissy on June 11, 2014, as they take part in a demonstration to protest the growing number of minicabs, known in France as Voitures de Tourisme avec Chauffeurs (VTC). Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images
