Uber will show ads in its apps while you wait for cars and food
More ads for you.
If you're someone who recoils at the sight of an ad, you're going to be in for a bad day the next time you order an Uber. The same goes for when you order food via Uber Eats or get your next tipple from Drizly, too.
That's because Uber is putting video ads into all of its apps, so you can be advertised to while you wait for your taxi or wonder where your meal got to.
It isn't just your phone that will start to show ads, either. Uber taxis with in-car tablets will also show ads on their displays.
The waiting game
The WSJ reports that "users will soon encounter full-length video ads for the first time across the company’s ride-hailing app, food delivery service Uber Eats and alcohol sales platform Drizly."
This isn't Uber's first foray into the world of ads, of course. "The company has sold static display ads on Uber Eats since 2019 and began offering ads on its ride-hailing app last year," the WSJ notes.
The first quarter of 2023 reportedly saw 345,000 merchants buy ads with Uber, something that the company will hope to leverage as it rolls out its new video ads.
"Uber will debut its video ad products this week across the U.S. before expanding to markets including the U.K., France and Australia later this year," Mark Grether, vice president and general manager of Uber Technologies’ advertising division reportedly told the WSJ.
Master your iPhone in minutes
iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!
As for in-car tablets, they'll roll out on a city-by-city basis, we're told.
In terms of what makes this so compelling for advertisers, Uber's location data and purchase history should prove a goldmine for anyone keen to tailor their ads to a specific area or people.
While ads are often something that users rail against, it's unlikely that many will delete their Uber accounts as a result of any of this.
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
-
Annie_M I hate this idea. I'm really growing weary of ordering food through Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, etc. When you compare prices via the delivery service apps, prices are always higher than on the actual restaurant app. Then there are service fees and the delivery fee. Using these services during the pandemic was great... but I've been picking up orders directly.Reply -
Just_Me_D Annie_M said:I hate this idea. I'm really growing weary of ordering food through Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, etc. When you compare prices via the delivery service apps, prices are always higher than on the actual restaurant app. Then there are service fees and the delivery fee. Using these services during the pandemic was great... but I've been picking up orders directly.
I’ve not used any of those services in quite some time. The fees have become ridiculous. -
Ledsteplin Annie_M said:I hate this idea. I'm really growing weary of ordering food through Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, etc. When you compare prices via the delivery service apps, prices are always higher than on the actual restaurant app. Then there are service fees and the delivery fee. Using these services during the pandemic was great... but I've been picking up orders directly.
A couple years ago my wife ordered a Whopper with cheese, fries, and drink with Grubsouth. The delivery came to around $20. There's times when it's handy, but not often. -
Wotchered I don’t use Uber ( way too expensive) and would not be at all amused to watch ads while waiting for a tardy cab ! I don’t get it anyway, who would call a cab and then stay on the cab app ? I call a cab, go back to whatever I was doing and the cab calls me when it gets to me ! what’s wrong with that ?Reply