--- description: Uber is in talks with hundreds of big-name retailers for a same-day delivery program. title: Uber Is About to Change Dramatically image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d4b00ac8e867d98/69877d655f570f454eb15133/uber.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Uber Is About to Change Dramatically ## Video: Driverless Cars: The Future of Driving [Watch (HLS stream): Driverless Cars: The Future of Driving](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uDXtGW1i.m3u8) (4:57)  _Published 2014-05-06. Predictions about a future in which cars that will drive themselves have been staples of everything from science fiction to pop culture to corporate PR for decades. But now it looks like driverless cars, at least, may finally be hitting the road._  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 29, 2015 2:01 PM CUT  FILE - JANUARY 21: According to reports January 21, 2015, Uber, the ride-hailing service, has closed on $1.6 Million in financing from clients in the private wealth arm Of Goldman-Sachs. BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 01: In this photo illustration, the app 'Uber' is launched in a smart phone on July 1, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. Taxi drivers in main cities strike over unlicensed car-halling services. Drivers say that is a lack of regulation behind the new app. (Photo Illustration by David Ramos/Getty Images) FILE - JANUARY 21: According to reports January 21, 2015, Uber, the ride-hailing service, has closed on $1.6 Million in financing from clients in the private wealth arm Of Goldman-Sachs. BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 01: In this photo illustration, the app 'Uber' is launched in a smart phone on July 1, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. Taxi drivers in main cities strike over unlicensed car-halling services. Drivers say that is a lack of regulation behind the new app. (Photo Illustration by David Ramos/Getty Images)Getty Images  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 29, 2015 2:01 PM CUT 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](http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/28/uber-is-quietly-testing-a-massive-merchant-delivery-program/#.w3xzev:mGnc "undefined"). 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](http://time.com/3693222/uber-carnegie-mellon-driverless-taxis/ "undefined") 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. **Read more:** [Uber Will Deliver Food in 10 Minutes in NYC. Seriously.](http://time.com/money/3838379/uber-food-delivery-nyc-manhattan-new-york/ "undefined") ### See Uber Protests From Around the World  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 Images  Police 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/Corbis  Hundreds of taxi drivers gather next to the Olympia Stadium to protest ride-sharing apps on June 11, 2014 in Berlin. Sean Gallup—Getty Images  A 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—AP  A 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—Reuters  Taxi drivers hold a banner during a protest in Barcelona on June 11, 2014. Josep Lago—AFP/Getty Images  London 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 Images  Taxi 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 Images  An 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 Images  Taxis 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 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3839930/uber-deliveries/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3839930/uber-deliveries/"},"headline":"Uber Is About to Change Dramatically","datePublished":"2015-04-29T14:01:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:52.658Z","description":"The company looks to be planning a massive same-day delivery program","url":"https://time.com/3839930/uber-deliveries/","keywords":["Companies","Tech","Uber"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d4b00ac8e867d98/69877d655f570f454eb15133/uber.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d4b00ac8e867d98/69877d655f570f454eb15133/uber.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Uber","caption":"Uber","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3839930/uber-deliveries/","name":"Uber Is About to Change Dramatically"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Driverless Cars: The Future of Driving","description":"Predictions about a future in which cars that will drive themselves have been staples of everything from science fiction to pop culture to corporate PR for decades. But now it looks like driverless cars, at least, may finally be hitting the road.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uDXtGW1i/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-06T19:21:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uDXtGW1i.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3839930/uber-deliveries/","duration":"PT4M57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3839930/uber-deliveries/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```