business

Uber Eats Is Channeling TikTok In Its Latest Bid To Dominate The Food Delivery Sector

The company hopes its new approach will translate into increased engagement. Uber Eats Is Channeling TikTok In Its Latest Bid To Dominate The Food Delivery Sector Giphy

News that is entertaining to read

Subscribe for free to get more stories like this directly to your inbox

Say what you will about TikTok (and plenty of people have said a lot in recent months), but it’s impossible to ignore the way the platform has revolutionized social media with its focus on short-form video.

And the high engagement that such content receives on the TikTok app has sparked a number of clones … including a new pursuit by none other than Uber Eats.

What’s the goal?

Whether you order a lot of food delivery or not, you’re probably familiar with the Uber Eats brand. But with other companies competing for market share, the platform is hoping to engage customers with its own TikTok-inspired feed.

So far, the update to the Uber Eats app has been updated to include a carousel of short videos in major test markets including New York City, San Francisco, and Toronto.

The company hopes to boost interaction by displaying different dishes being offered by restaurants within a specific user’s delivery area. Clicking on a preview provides video content such as the preparation or packaging of certain menu items.

Uber Eats executive Awaneesh Verma cited data that “shows people are much more confident trying new things they otherwise wouldn’t have” if they know more about the items.

“Even little things like being able to see texture, and the details of what a portion size looks like, or what’s in a dish, has been really inspiring for our users,” Verma said.

Not just Uber Eats

The rush to copy TikTok’s formula is evident across the social media landscape, with rivals including Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, and even LinkedIn implementing some sort of short-form video feed to their platforms. And streaming services like Netflix are also jumping on the bandwagon.

But Uber Eats hopes its novel approach will prove that video engagement will translate directly into increased sales.

Chris Agee
Chris Agee April 9th, 2024
Share this story: