Uber and bp have announced a major global partnership to extend its delivery services to more consumers across the world.
The partnership sees bp become the first convenience retailer to team up with Uber Eats on a global level and aims to have more than 3,000 retail locations available on the delivery platform over the next three years.
Retail sites in Australia, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, and the west coast of the US are covered through the new partnership, and sites in the UK and eastern US will be added to the app for the first time this year. There are also plans to launch in other European markets from 2023.
As part of the agreement, Uber Eats and bp will work to introduce delivery options onto bp’s own app, BPme – initially planned to be available in the UK, US, and Australia by the end of 2023 – powered by Uber Direct. This new offer will allow bp to directly connect its customers to Uber’s global network of more than 4.4 million drivers and couriers to fulfill orders.
Emma Delaney, Executive Vice President Customers and Products, bp, said that the partnership comes at a time where demand for online services is surging. Since 2019, bp has seen a three-fold increase in users of the BPme app, with 16 million active loyalty users worldwide.
“We’ve seen how the pandemic has accelerated customer demand for delivered convenience and this partnership will allow us to scale up quickly on the Uber platform. And for the first time, we will be able to offer delivery options to existing customers on our own BPme app by the end of 2023,” she said.
With more than 20,500 bp retail sites across the world and 550 million customers living within 20 minutes of a bp retail site, the partners see enormous opportunities for growth. bp sites offer a range of products tailored to local markets which may include hot and cold drinks, food-for-now options as well as staple groceries, fresh produce, and ready meals, plus wine, beer, and flowers.
In the UK, customers will be able to access a range of Wild Bean Café, and other branded food and products via Uber Eats – with the first 120 sites due to go live on the platform by the end of June.
In the US, the offer will be made available to bp’s network of independently owned retail locations to support the growth of their businesses. The goal is to make it easy for these partners to sign up to the Uber Eats platform and access benefits based on bp’s scale.
bp will benefit from Uber’s global brand and operations footprint, best-in-class technology for dispatching orders, and more than 4.4 million drivers and couriers on the platform worldwide.
Uber and bp already work together in mobility with bp providing electric vehicle charging for Uber’s ride-hail drivers. The companies will explore other areas for future cooperation in convenience, including opportunities to utilise low carbon delivery methods to fulfil orders from bp sites.
