Prime Highlights:
- Uber Eats reported a 20% rise in grocery orders on Christmas Eve 2024, reflecting growing reliance on doorstep delivery for festive shopping.
- The company introduced new features like Live Order Editing and AI-powered replacements to enhance convenience for customers and merchants.
Key Facts:
- Potatoes topped the list of most-ordered grocery items, while searches for turkeys reached over three tonnes on Christmas Day.
- Uber Eats also launched an on-demand gifting hub with partners such as Boots and John Lewis, offering items like candles, prosecco, and AirPods.
Background
On-demand delivery platform Uber Eats reported a sharp rise in festive shopping, showing a 20% increase in grocery orders on Christmas Eve 2024. The company’s latest research shows that modern British shoppers now use doorstep delivery a lot, relying on online platforms to get last-minute festive items.
The company also reported record searches and sales for holiday favorites like potatoes, pigs in blankets, Champagne, and mince pies in December 2024. Customers ordered more potatoes than any other grocery item, and on Christmas Day, they searched for over three tonnes of turkeys.
To keep up with this rising demand, Uber Eats has launched new tools and features for customers and merchants. These include Live Order Editing, which lets users change items before they check out; AI-powered replacement options, which suggest substitutes when items run out; and batch picking, which helps store staff prepare many orders faster.
Uber Eats has also launched an on-demand gifting hub featuring partners such as Boots and John Lewis, offering items like candles, perfumes, prosecco, and AirPods that can be delivered directly to recipients’ doors.
Katie Hunter, General Manager for Grocery & Retail at Uber Eats UK, said the platform aims to simplify the festive rush. “Christmas is a magical but hectic time. We’re helping customers get what they need, when and where they need it,” she said.
Retail partners such as Co-op welcomed the move, calling it a boost for convenience during the busy holiday period.
Uber Eats made the announcement as it continues to expand its quick commerce services and strengthen its position in the growing on-demand delivery market.
