Uber Partners With Supermarket Iceland to Offer Rapid Delivery

(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. will offer consumers delivery within minutes on orders from frozen-grocery chain Iceland Foods, in its first “quick commerce” partnership in the UK.

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Customers on the Uber Eats mobile app will be able to order more than 1,000 items from Iceland via the new initiative, known as Uber Eats Market, the company said. The move marks Uber’s latest step in tapping growing demand for rapid grocery services.

Iceland shops in London neighborhoods including South Bank, Poplar and Walworth Road will participate initially, with dedicated staff to pick and pack orders. Shoppers in the UK are increasingly turning to frozen foods at outlets such as Iceland as soaring costs squeeze household budgets. Delivery times to customers’ doors will be as low as 20 minutes.

While Uber has previously partnered with France’s Carrefour SA to offer rapid delivery of groceries, that service used small-scale storage facilities, known as micro-fulfillment centers, to process orders. Iceland will deliver from existing stores.

Rivals such as Deliveroo Plc also use micro-fulfillment centers, including one recently opened on London’s New Oxford Street for walk-in customers.

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