Uber launched a new feature on Friday that lets customers return purchased items without leaving their home.
The new returns feature, which is accessed through the Uber Eats app, is the latest effort by Uber to add “stickiness” to its app by offering services that extend beyond its core ride-hailing and delivery businesses.
There are limitations to the new service, and there is, of course, a courier fee. The return fee is calculated based on the courier’s time and distance, according to Uber.
Customers can only send back eligible retail items purchased on Uber Eats, and they must comply with each store’s return policy. Participating retailers include At Home, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, GNC, Michael’s Pet Food Express, Pacsun, Petco, and Target. Uber said more retailers will be added in the future.
Uber has also placed price limitations on the service. Customers can only return items with retail prices above $20, according to the company.
Customers can access the new feature by navigating to their order history in the app, tapping “Return an item,” and selecting the item. The process is completed once users tap the “Return with a courier” option. Some customers may be wooed by the instant refund, not to mention bypassing the chore of driving to a retailer, finding a parking spot, and standing in line.
Uber has never experimented with retail returns. However, the company has launched a number of other features outside of its traditional business, ride-hailing, and food delivery businesses.
In 2020, Uber launched a service called Connect that used couriers to pick up and deliver packages to friends, family, or co-workers. It also created Uber Direct, which allowed users to place orders from select retailers and get their items delivered right to their doorstep — without contact, a reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic that was sweeping across the country at the time.
The peer-to-peer package delivery service, Uber Connect, expanded in 2023 with a “Return a Package” feature that let customers hire a gig worker to pick up and deliver up to five packages at a time to a post office, UPS, or FedEx location.