Uber Eats is launching a TikTok-style short-form video stream to boost discovery and help restaurants showcase their dishes. Uber Eats Sr. Product Manager Awaneesh Verma exclusively told TechCrunch in an interview that the new feed is being tested in New York, San Francisco and Toronto. The company plans to roll out streaming worldwide in the future.
With this launch, Uber Eats now joins many other popular apps that have launched their own short-form video streams following TikTok’s rise in popularity, including Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Netflix to name a few. TechCrunch also recently learned that LinkedIn has begun experimenting with its own TikTok-like feed.
The new Uber Eats short-form videos are visible in carousels placed throughout the app, including the home screen. Once you click on a video preview, you’ll enter a swipeable vertical stream of short-form content. You’ll only see content from restaurants that are close enough to deliver to you.
Verma says the stream is designed to replicate the experience of being in a restaurant in person and seeing people prepare food and being inspired to try something new. As you scroll through the feed, you might come across a video of an ice cream maker whipping up a Nutella milkshake, or a video of an Indian restaurant packing the rice separately from the curry so it doesn’t get soggy by the time it’s delivered to the house.
“Early data shows that people are much more confident trying new dishes and trying things they wouldn’t otherwise have,” Verma said. “Even small things like being able to see the texture and details of what a portion size looks like or what’s in a dish have been really inspiring for our users.”
Image Credits: Uber Eats
Uber Eats notes that the videos are not advertisements, as the company does not charge merchants for content placements.
Many restaurants have social media accounts on apps like Instagram and TikTok to reach new customers and showcase their food using short-form videos. By allowing merchants to share short-form videos directly within the Uber Eats app, the company helps restaurants reach customers directly as they decide what to order. As for consumers, many people already use social media to discover new places and dishes to try, so Uber Eats is likely hoping that its new feed will encourage users to try to find inspiration directly through its own application.
Some users may not see the release as a welcome addition to the app, as they may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of different short-form video streams on popular apps. While it may make sense to have short-form video streams in entertainment and social media apps, bringing one into a food delivery app may not be a favorable option for some.
Verma also shared that to further support merchants, the company has revamped its Uber Eats Manager software and added personalized development recommendations. The software is now able to encourage restaurants to grow their business by doing things like running a promotion on a particular dish or adding photos to menu listings.
Additionally, the company is set to release an all-new app for restaurant managers this summer, designed to make it easier for restaurants to be more active on the go. For example, the app could alert a restaurant manager that his store is experiencing problems or that he might want to increase sales with new advertising.
Uber Eats announced Monday that it now has more than one million merchants worldwide on its platform, in 11,000 cities on six continents.
