Uber, Best Buy Team Up For Electronics Delivery
San Francisco-based Uber this week announced it has partnered with Best Buy on an initiative that allows shoppers to buy electronics from the retailer through UberEats and have the item(s) delivered to them. The service is available now and runs nationwide.
To mark the partnership’s launch, users will get $20 off the price of orders $60 or more using the promo code BESTBUY10. Additionally, Uber One subscribers (like yours truly) get $0 delivery fees and other perks. The promo ends on September 29, Uber says.
“From headphones and chargers to laptops, gaming gear, and small appliances, Best Buy customers will now enjoy the convenience of on-demand delivery or scheduled drop-offs, all within the Uber Eats app,” Uber said in its press release on Tuesday.
As someone who fairly regularly gets food and groceries delivered via UberEats, Uber’s collaboration with Best Buy only increases its value proposition. Especially from an accessibility standpoint, that a disabled person—who may not be able to venture out to their neighborhood Best Buy store, if one exists at all—could get a MacBook or AirPods or whatnot brought to their house on-demand is worth its weight in gold. It transcends sheer convenience into something much more impactful; it’s plausible, for instance, that someone needs new AirPods for a virtual appointment with their medical team. Instead of asking someone to run the errand of going to the Apple Store posthaste, or perhaps postponing the meeting so as to accommodate shipping of an online order, the earbuds could be brought to them prior to the meeting. It sounds trivial, but it’s really not—the reality is, as with using UberEats to grocery shop, not everyone can (or should) leave their home to do shopping for health and/or logistical reasons, or a combination thereof. Most people fancy Uber Eats as an amenity: it’s cool and nice to have, but perhaps not essential to everyday living. The flip side of that argument, however, is that what’s a nicety to some could very well be a lifesaver to others. And of course, the conduit for this service is the technological marvel known as the modern smartphone.
“Consumers today expect everything from groceries to gadgets to arrive at their doorsteps quickly and reliably,” Hashim Amin, Uber’s head of grocery and retail in North America, said in a statement included with the company’s announcement. “With this partnership, Uber Eats and Best Buy are making it easier than ever for customers to access the latest technology, whether it’s a necessity or something fun. We’re thrilled to help bring Best Buy’s trusted assortment into the on-demand economy.”
The Uber × Best Buy deal comes after Uber announced in July it was expanding the roster of SNAP-friendly retailers in order to make getting groceries more accessible.
