DoorDash and Uber Eats on the Hunt for the Number One Express Online Delivery Service

We all know those moments after a long day when we just want to relax and not feel like cooking. Thanks to the development of eCommerce, we can order food through online platforms with just a few clicks. Among the most popular food delivery platforms out there are DoorDash and Uber Eats. But like the global trend, their offering has expanded in recent years to encompass much more than just food delivery. 

DoorDash Concentrates on the U.S. market 

DoorDash is one of the older food delivery services: it has been launched in 2013 with the idea of making delivery easier for restaurants. Over time, the U.S. delivery provider expanded its services to other categories such as Fashion delivery and Hobby & Leisure in an effort to capture a larger share of the eCommerce market.  

In the United States, in particular, the delivery provider has seen success with this strategy. As per 2023, a total of 7,170 stores in the U.S. use the service, making it the largest market for DoorDash. The delivery of products from the eCommerce categories of Fashion, Care Products and Grocery is particularly popular among U.S. users. 

Uber Eats as a Broader Shipping Provider for
Various Products 

As the name suggests, Uber Eats is an offshoot of the company Uber, which launched a year after DoorDash, in 2014. Uber by itself was initially a ride-sharing app that had been around since 2009. What began as a way to bring customers from A to B became a company offering delivery services for almost everything. 

Compared to DoorDash's dominance in the U.S. market, Uber Eats has a broader presence in the global eCommerce market. For instance, Uber Eats is widely used in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Canada. The preference for the use of Uber Eats vary by country.  

Preference for using Uber Eats varies by country. In Mexico, for example, the service is largely used for Grocery and Hobby & Leisure delivery, favored by the fact that Uber Eats faces less competition in this market. In addition, Mexico's online infrastructure is less advanced at 10.3% compared to the 26.7% online share in the U.S. in 2024, which contributes to less competition in Mexican eCommerce. In contrast, in New Zealand, the platform is more commonly utilized for the delivery of Care Products, then comes Grocery delivery. 

The Secret Behind the Shipping Providers’ Success 

Availability of different products plays a role as well, and as we have seen with Uber Eats, demand for certain products varies by region. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Leafly – a U.S. cannabis website – recently launched a pilot project with Uber Eats. Together, they are working on "a complete ordering experience in applicable legal Canadian provinces" in less than 2 hours. 

Providing customers with popular products is one way to keep the business going. However, as is often the case in eCommerce, the key to success for shipping providers remains convenience. People love the ease of having goods delivered right to their doorstep. It saves time and effort that can be invested in other, more important things - hence why this service is unlikely to disappear from our daily lives any time soon.