Today in Food Commerce: Uber Eats Delivers via Robots; Online Grocers Struggle to Build Trust

Today in food commerce, Uber partners with two robotic delivery startups to fulfill Uber Eats orders, while PYMNTS data reveal that building trust with online grocery customers takes time. Plus, online grocery delivery startup Buymie raises $7.3 million in new funding.

Uber Eats Launches Two Robotic Delivery Pilots as Restaurant Industry Struggles to Meet Demand

As aggregators struggle with driver labor challenges, Uber Eats is approaching the issue by removing drivers entirely. Uber has launched two robotic delivery pilot tests, one in partnership with driverless vehicle technology company Motional and one with autonomous sidewalk delivery company Serve Robotics, which spun off from delivery company Postmates (now owned by Uber) in 2017.

eGrocers Risk Losing New Customers to Lack of Trust

For online grocers, it takes more than a few orders to earn consumers’ trust. According to data from PYMNTS’ study “Satisfaction in the Age of eCommerce: How Trust Helps Online Merchants Build Customer Loyalty,” more often than not, it takes more than a year.

Digital Grocery Delivery Startup Buymie Picks up $7.3M in Fresh Funding

Online grocery delivery startup Buymie has secured 7 million euros (about $7.3 million) to continue building out technology for its digital ordering and delivery capabilities and enhance its ability to serve customers.

RIP Digital Transformation, We Hardly Knew Ye

“Instead of models, maybe we need common sense to sort out the digital transformation storyline based on observations of the consumer’s digital preferences,” wrote PYMNTS’ Karen Webster.

Consumers More Drawn to Products Than Brands When Ordering Online

Will Said, co-founder and CEO of MealMe, a company that offers a search engine by which consumers can shop across multiple restaurants, food stores and ordering apps, explained to PYMNTS how consumers’ behavior is driven by desire to find the best value for specific products rather than by brand loyalty to a specific restaurant or grocer.