The biggest debate in 2025 America seems to be the price of groceries and whether they’re still too expensive. You’ll find some who say they’ve lowered in price after a long period of inflation, then others who say they’re still too steep for most average families. Amid that clearly political debate came Uber Eats seeing an untapped service. That is, offering the convenience of grocery delivery at a price anyone can supposedly afford.
Most people are already familiar with Instacart and their grocery delivery service. Some or many of you have perhaps already received some groceries at your door from them—if even doing the delivery yourself. While there’s often been issues involved with delivering groceries (especially with fresh grocery items), Instacart has basically stood alone without a lot of competition. DoorDash has offered some grocery delivery services, if not a large chunk of their offerings.
Enter Uber Eats earlier this year in wanting to expand their delivery strategies. So far, news shows Uber has taken off in offering fresh grocery delivery with special discounts. They’re already making billions in annual grosses.
What makes this stand out is their offering of a “Fresh Days” concept where you can get up to 50% off on certain items in specific grocery markets. You have to be a member of the premium Uber One tier, though, to obtain these grocery discounts—proving you need to pay money to not only make money, but also save money.
Since Uber is basically competing with the above delivery services (including Amazon), they had to distinguish themselves further with specific features. The best of these are flexible aspects like supposedly easy grocery replacements, including real-time editing of your grocery shopping list. They also expanded their eligible grocery store list, albeit now partnering with Aldi, a discount grocery chain that may or may not be in your local area.
Based on the profits Uber is raking in with this, they obviously hit a nerve in the needs of the general public. But is the public really saving money and time going this route? What about the deliverer, and is it worth your own time to deliver groceries to people in your city?
I’ve delivered groceries for DoorDash, and it can often bring some uncomfortable surprises when picking up items. As for ordering groceries, the debate is on whether it’s easier to just visit your local bargain store yourself.
Delivering a Major Grocery Order
If you decide to take a grocery order from Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Instacart, you have to expect that it’s going to entail many, many bags. Nobody is going to order groceries digitally without making it a bulk buy. Not that some people don’t just order a few grocery items online, even if that’s generally through Amazon if not perishable items.
When I was alerted to pick up groceries while doing DoorDash, the downside to their system was you had no idea how many things you’d be handling. There was no information on the app about how many items or bags there’d be. More than a few times, I learned I’d be handling up to 10 bags of groceries after thinking it’d be a smaller order. Yeah, it sometimes brought a jaw drop from me in front of the takeout clerks.
Thanks to reasonably large trunk space in my Kia, I had no problem placing the bags in there. It’s always a good idea to keep the trunk area in your car as free as possible in the event you do get a massive grocery pickup.
The most positive aspect to delivering groceries is that you’ll get paid more, plus there isn’t a huge rush on delivery time since you’re not delivering someone’s lunch. Delivering is also going to mean simply leaving the bags by the recipient’s door since they’re more than likely not home. In this case, it made me wonder how long the bags would sit there considering theft is already a problem with simple, one-bag deliveries.
This is why DoorDash always required a photo of ALL the groceries to ensure everything was properly delivered. And yet, would you allow all your groceries to sit outside your door for possibly hours—even if you (supposedly) received discounts?
The Discount Reality
Despite Aldi being a major American discount grocery store, it doesn’t even exist yet in 11 U.S. states. I’ll admit that I’d never heard of those stores until reading about Uber Eats partnering with them for cheaper grocery deliveries. Instead, Aldi is focused on certain states (mostly in the U.S. South) to gain the most profits.
In this regard, those of you reading this from the U.S. West Coast probably can’t even use Uber Eats grocery delivery. Some of you who need grocery deliveries due to no car or physical handicaps would likely have to tap the more expensive delivery services like Instacart and Amazon.
Even if you do have the Uber Eats grocery service available, remember that markups and added fees are going to make it often $50 more. This just ruins the reportedly incredible discount deals you can often find in Aldi stores. I found out they often only charge a dollar for many produce items…assuming it’s not sub-par quality.
Don’t forget about the protocol of leaving a tip for your grocery deliverer besides. You don’t want to be the recipient of rage from an Uber delivery person because you refused to tip them anything. If you’re getting multiple bags of groceries delivered, a $10 tip is more than acceptable. But of course, it adds even more to your bill.
It’s now considered that Uber Eats grocery delivery (at discount) is still a little too expensive for the average American due to the add-on costs. You’re better off just using it for emergency items you need immediately if you’re too busy to go to the grocery store in-person. Still, a lot of Americans are taking advantage of Uber’s service based on the profits being made. It may be just temporary as many find any advantage to save as much money as possible when buying food for themselves or their families.
Going to Your Local Discount Grocery Store
Here in Oregon’s Willamette valley, we have several notable grocery stores that offer food at discount prices. WinCo is one of the best-known ones, and it’s where I shop often. While some may suggest it attracts a ghetto atmosphere, this isn’t always true—especially if going late at night or early mornings. Since they’re open 24 hrs, you can shop at any time. And, they have prices generally matching ones at Aldi stores.
We also have Grocery Outlet, which is grouped in with being an overstock/close-out type of market. It’s a near match with WinCo, if perhaps finding even cheaper items there due to near expired products.
These two locations alone are prominent here in the OR valley, making it easier to travel to them. If you don’t have a car, you can easily get to them within a reasonable time via our city bus. Thanks to the 24-hour aspect to WinCo, you can also shop after-hours if too busy to most of the week. Just remember that WinCo has store stockers working inside if you decide to go at—uh, 3 a.m.
With these available, plus Aldi stores being a staple in other parts of America, it makes more sense to just visit your local discount grocery store in-person. You ultimately save money this way, plus have no worry about someone stealing your delivered groceries off your porch until you get home.
This isn’t to say Uber Eats isn’t a good alternative—even for the reason of ultimately hating visiting a grocery store. I mean, they do get crowded, and it can feel like standing in a long bread line on some occasions. Add in screaming kids, plus cranky adults—and…you know.
If you decide to partake in Uber Eats’ grocery delivery service, just remember to set aside a little extra in your grocery fund. Or, simply use it for a few extra things you forgot at your local discount store. There isn’t anything worse than suddenly noticing you forgot to pick up paper towels or a loaf of bread on your last visit—requiring an extra trip.
That may be worth the $10 you’re perhaps paying per month for the premium Uber One grocery delivery service. Trouble is, you need to spend $35 minimum on your grocery bill to qualify for no delivery fees.
In Part XL, I’m going to wind up this Uber Eats/DoorDash blog by addressing a recent antitrust lawsuit Uber filed against DoorDash over anticompetitiveness. Is DoorDash really bullying restaurants to use their service over Uber? The two leading food delivery services in America are locking horns, which may be a fight to the finish.
/End
Greg Brian 