Uber wants to become more than just an alternative taxi service: in April, the company announced plans for entry into the product delivery market by partnering with companies to deliver goods directly to consumers, quickly and efficiently.
Now, Uber has partnered with the southeast Asia smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Inc. to deliver Xiaomi's first product, the Mi Note, to consumers who order it through the Uber app.
Uber's delivery program for the Mi Note works like this: on July 27, the day before the phone officially goes on sale on Xiaomi's website, consumers can order the smartphone through the Uber app with the purchase getting charged to the user's Uber account. Uber then delivers the phone to the user's physical location as quickly as possible.
Uber plans on testing this delivery service in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore first, although the company hopes to expand its Uber Merchant Program to cover the U.S., with potential partnerships with retail stores such as Hugo Boss, Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton.
Uber has already experimented with the program through its UberRush project, which uses bicycle couriers to deliver products to consumers. And it has tested UberEats, delivery of meals curbside, in Los Angeles and Barcelona.
"Experimenting and finding new, creative ways for the Uber app to provide even greater value to our riders and driver partners is a way of life at Uber," said an Uber spokesperson to Business Insider. "We have been piloting UberRush with multiple retailers for the last year."
Now, Uber wants to use its automobile drivers to expand on that, delivering not just smartphones, clothing, jewelry and other retail items, but also, potentially food. With cars already covering most major cities worldwide, why not also use those for delivery, too?
However, Uber faces strong opposition in the U.S. A California court recently hit the company with a $7.3 million fine when Uber did not provide data about the services its drivers provided for passengers with wheelchairs or service animals, along with information such as the time and date of a ride, the zip code that the route covered, and the fare that was paid. By California law, this data gets analyzed to make sure that Uber, and other ride-share services, provide fair services to all passengers. Rivals Lyft and Sidecar provided the necessary infromation by the deadline.
Uber is also under fire for its operation in New York, although that city eventually decided not to limit Uber to a certain number of vehicles operating within the city limits while it conducts a study on how Uber's cars affect New York City traffic and the environment.
Uber also recently ceased services in Broward County, Florida, after the county put what the company felt were unreasonable restrictions on ride-share services.
