Dive Brief:

• Uber on Friday announced app updates for its delivery couriers that address their ability to use digital payment methods to check out, the information received in upfront shopping offers in-app and the process of managing out-of-stocks and replacements.
• Separately, DoorDash drivers, known as “Dashers,” can now use Upside’s cashback rewards at 50,000 gas and food retailers nationwide directly in the DasherDirect app powered by Payfare, per a Thursday announcement. 
• The changes come at a time when delivery couriers are facing volatile food and fuel costs. 

Dive Insight:

As Uber and DoorDash bolster their grocery delivery operations to take on Instacart, catering to their couriers’ needs with new features is a way for them to boost their force of gig workers. 

Uber has nearly 200,000 couriers actively handling shopping trips each month in the U.S. while Instacart has a workforce of more than 600,000 people, known as Instacart shoppers. Tony Xu, DoorDash’s co-founder, chairman and CEO, told investors on an earnings call in February the company has 3 million Dashers who come to the platform every 90 days. 

An Uber spokesperson noted that the company debuted shopping trips, called “Shop and Pay,” in the driver/courier app last year. That update allowed delivery couriers to use a pre-authorized card from Uber or pay with their own card and get reimbursed for Shop & Pay orders, mainly at grocery stores. 

Rolling out Shop & Pay prompted Uber to rethink its in-app experience for couriers, Therese Lim, senior director of product management for Grocery + New Verticals at Uber, said in the announcement. The updates announced Friday address three of the most common issues cited by couriers, Lim said.

Because out-of-stock items are the top issue couriers have said they face, Uber has redesigned its experience to better handle out-of-stocks. When workers indicate they can’t find an originally requested item in-store, the app will provide a list of suggested substitutions with similar brands and items and workers can send those suggestions to customers for approval.

“In testing, shoppers have let us know that the new experience is a win: among other things it reduces their in-store time considerably— a win for earners and for their hungry customers at home,” Lim noted. 

To address the issue of couriers waiting for days to receive their physical credit cards for Shop & Pay trips, Uber allows those workers to activate a digital card on their phones through Apple Pay or Google Pay within a few minutes. “In a recent survey, 92% of shoppers told us digital payments were easy to activate, and 88% said it was easy to check out — we’ll keep working to make it even smoother,” Lim said. 

Uber is also aiming to improve order clarity by providing couriers with more information, such as the number of unique items and whether there are any heavy items, up front, according to Lim.

DoorDash, meanwhile, has linked up with retail technology firm Upside and financial technology company Payfare to provide rewards to couriers who have the DasherDirect card. 

For U.S. Dashers, DashierDirect allows workers to get paid instantly, earn cashback rewards and access banking services, such as money transfers, per DoorDash’s website. DoorDash and Payfare announced the DasherDirect Visa card and mobile banking app in late 2020. 

With the partnership announcement, DasherDirect cardholders can now claim personalized fuel, restaurant or grocery offers, such as up to 25 cents cashback on fuel and up to 45% cashback on food, in the DasherDirect app at eligible retail locations.

The press release noted retailers will benefit from the change because those cardholders receive personalized incentives and experiences that incentivize them to visit participating locations, build bigger baskets and make repeat trips.