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Ride, Deliver, Sell. Uber platform play🔄

Last week, Uber and Uber Eats dropped some juicy numbers on their “Investor presentation”. And let me tell you, Uber is not just about getting from A to B anymore; with “Grocery & Retail” segment, they're bringing the supermarket to your doorstep and feeding the ecommerce future.

1. Delivery's Astronomical Growth 🌌 Since 2018, Uber's delivery segment has exploded 8x from $8B to a whopping $64B, snatching almost 50% of the Uber Gross Booking pie. Post-pandemic, this segment has been the fuel behind Uber’s rocket

2. Grocery & Retail: The New Frontier 🌾 Grocery & Retail (formerly New Verticals) is a major part of the Uber business and includes categories such as convenience and alcohol. Grocery & Retail brought $7B of annualized Gross Bookings in Q4 (or 10% of Delivery Gross Bookings). That's a 40% YoY growth, making up 20% of Delivery's overall YoY expansion. 

3. The E-Commerce Play 🛍️ Everything starts with the power of platform. 33% of Uber users are now juggling multiple Uber products. Those who dare to use many uber products spend 3x more than single product users. 

The synergy between taxi and delivery is slicing customer acquisition costs. A staggering 31% of Delivery first trips are from mobility users, and 22% vice versa. On top of that, 14% of Delivery consumers are dipping into Grocery & Retail monthly.

By integrating Cornershop and adding big names like Big Lots and Eataly, Uber's Grocery & Retail is growing rapidly. Uber is now also providing parcel delivery (e.g. for MediaSaturn!), Big & Bulky and Package Returns. Big moves, folks! 

4. The Ad Game 💰 Uber is particularly pleased with its ad business, which now has a revenue run rate of $900 million! On top of that Uber reported that total spend on ads and merchant offers now reached 5% on average and those Ads are bringing 8x return! 

5. The AI Game 🤖 The obligatory AI initiatives are also carried out by Uber.  “GenAI for Productivity” , “GenAI for Automation” and “GenAI for Magical UX” are the three major fields of innovation at the moment for almost all platforms. Especially in the case of Magical UX, let’s hope it will be more than just usual chat.

Verticalization is the New Black in Marketplaces🏅

Published Feb 15, Adevinta's latest report “The State of Online Marketplaces 2023” in collaboration with DealRoom highlights a tech-driven shift in marketplaces, fueled by fintech, SaaS, and AI. Conclusion based on analysis of over 35,000 platforms across 30+ sectors. Here's a summary of their insights:

1️⃣ Venture Capital Trends 📉 
VC funding for marketplaces hit a nine-year low, totaling $31.6 billion in 2023—a decline to levels last seen in 2014, with a noticeable drop in late-stage investments. The focus shifted towards SaaS solutions, marking the smallest share of global VC in over a decade.

2️⃣ Niche Dominance 🖤 
Specialization isn't just for coffee shops anymore. Vertical marketplaces, especially in fintech and food, attracted 90% of VC investments in recent years (2020-2023), with B2B platforms securing $6.3 billion (20% of 2023 funding), showcasing a record interest in focused sectors. Who knew B2B could be that sexy? Adevinta and Packhelp did, apparently. :)

3️⃣ Marketplace Exits Surge 🚀 
Exits increased, driven by acquisitions and buyouts, despite a downturn in public listings. Reliance on debt financing grew, hitting a record $14 billion (30% of total private financing in 2023, up from 22% in 2022 and 14% in 2021).

4️⃣ Sector-Specific Trends 📉 
Real estate marketplaces faced a 76% funding drop to $1.7 billion in 2023, the largest annual decrease across industries worldwide. Fintech and food sectors also saw significant declines, receiving $5.6 billion (-73% YoY) and $5.2 billion (-53% YoY) respectively but they still received the most across all the different marketplace verticals.

🛒 Mass merchant

▶ 🇺🇸 Amazon trims waste with new packaging initiative. Amazon is on a green mission, launching a "Ships in Product Packaging" program for FBA sellers in the US, Canada, and Europe. The initiative promises to reduce unnecessary packaging, making deliveries more eco-friendly and cutting costs. Good news for the planet, not so much for packaging sellers. You can see Amazon video on it here 👉Deep dive

▶ 🇺🇸 Walmart eyes Vizio acquisition, signals TV ad wars. Walmart's potential $2 billion Vizio buy could shift the TV ad game, leveraging 18M Vizio users against rivals Amazon and Roku. With over 70% of Vizio’s TVs sold at Walmart, this deal could redefine in-store and smart TV advertising.👉Deep dive

▶ 🌍 X launches video-first social commerce tools. X, stepping into a video-first future, is unleashing Creator Targeting this month to bridge advertisers with top creators. With 80,000 creators on board since July, it's a move to rival YouTube and innovate in shopping, video projects, and peer-to-peer payments.👉Deep dive

▶ 🌏 Qoo10 snags Wish for a cool $173M, going debt-free. In a $173M cash deal, Qoo10 acquires Wish, leaving ContextLogic debt-free and holding onto $2.7B in NOLs. With its 2020 IPO value at $14B, Wish's shift to Qoo10 aims for a global e-commerce reign, blending logistics with cross-border marketplace prowess.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇨🇳 Alibaba faces a strategic shift with a 69% net income drop. Despite a revenue rise to $36.6B, Alibaba's quarter reveals deep cuts with almost 70% net income plunge and a troubled new retail venture. The Chinese giant's struggle reflects in offloading physical stores amid fierce e-commerce battles and economic downturns. 👉Deep dive

👗 Fashion & Beauty

▶ 🇬🇧 Farfetch founder bows out as Coupang takes the reins. José Neves steps down following Coupang's acquisition, marking a seismic shift for Farfetch. Amidst a £400M rescue deal, leadership exits and job cuts loom, signaling a new era under Coupang's stewardship.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇬🇧 M&S expands sportswear with Puma and Reebok. In a bold move, M&S added Puma and Reebok to its sportswear lineup on 'The Sports Edit' platform. Over 140 products will drop, joining 90+ brands online. Since its launch, sportswear searches on M&S.com surged by 110%. The UK sportswear market, worth £15.3bn, is expected to grow by 16.3% by 2027.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇬🇧 Revieve and Debenhams launch AI beauty revolution. Teaming up firms bring groundbreaking AI and AR beauty solutions to the UK. Dive into digital skincare, makeup, and hair care advisories that personalize your shopping experience like never before. 👉Deep dive

▶ 🇩🇪 Best Secret eyes €4B Best Secret sale with top banks. Amid a fashion-forward frenzy, Permira has brought Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs to the catwalk, eyeing a €4B valuation for Best Secret. With the market's mood lifting, it's high time for high finance to meet high fashion, proving even sheep can strut in style.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇺🇸 Express maneuvers to dodge bankruptcy. As Q3 debt hits $274.7M, up from $235.4M in 2022, Express Inc. haggles with creditors, eyeing a lifeline away from Chapter 11. Amidst a potential product drought, Q3 reveals a $454M revenue rise yet a $36.8M net loss. The plot thickens with a 5% YoY sales jump, despite a looming delisting shadow.👉Deep dive

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🍔 Food & Grocery

▶ 🇬🇧 Deliveroo and Uber Eats drivers strike on Valentine's. On a day when love should be in the air, Deliveroo and Uber Eats drivers are swapping roses for picket signs. This Valentine's, they're calling for an end to "loveless" pay conditions, demanding the national living wage. A heartfelt plea for fairness, or a recipe for unromantic dinners?👉Deep dive

▶ 🇺🇸 Amazon and Walmart fuel online grocery surge. Despite a dip in supermarket visits and orders, online grocery sales in the U.S. hit $8.5B in January 2024, marking a 1.8% increase from last year. Ship-to-home sales soared, with Amazon leading the charge, evidencing changing consumer habits amidst financial shifts.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇺🇸 DoorDash and Walmart face a sneaky bot uprising. Last summer, a DoorDash driver in Indiana discovered an app promising to reveal tips, a game-changer in a gig economy where seeing base pay only is the norm. Amidst the delivery app battlefield, bots like "Batch grabbers" and Para are offering gig workers a controversial edge, promising higher earnings by showcasing hidden order details or automating order claims. Despite the allure, these digital shortcuts violate company policies, with consequences for those caught.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇵🇱 Biedronka launches a new food e-store, different from Glovo's app. Biedronka (leading food discounter in Poland) new e-store at zakupy.biedronka.pl offers 4k products for doorstep delivery, planning up to 4 days ahead, a feature not available with Glovo. This move expands Biedronka's digital footprint, including its Biedronka Home for non-food items.👉Deep dive

📦Other

▶ 🇩🇪 Media-Markt-Saturn accelerates e-commerce with 90-min delivery. Starting April, Media-Markt-Saturn vows lightning-fast delivery within 90 minutes via Uber Direct. With a €4.99 fee, the service spans major German cities, aiming nationwide by year's end. This strategic move aims to boost e-commerce revenue, leveraging 200 stores initially, with all 400 by 2024.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇪🇺 TikTok and Meta challenge EU's digital crackdown. The EU's new Digital Services Act triggers a legal battle with TikTok and Meta. Facing possible fines up to 6% of annual sales, they're contesting a levy funding content moderation enforcement. Amidst concerns over minors' safety, the digital arena becomes a courtroom drama.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇬🇧 Yodel leaps from collapse to rescue by rival. Yodel, teetering on collapse, found its hero in YDLGP, backed by Solano and Shift's team. This dramatic save, safeguarding 10,000 jobs, ushers in a new era with AI-driven logistics. With 190 million parcels yearly, Yodel's story turns from potential tragedy to a tale of innovation and survival, thanks to a rival's intervention.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇪🇺 Geopost reveals 70% of Europeans hustle on C2C. The digital marketplace is buzzing, with 70% of regular European online shoppers buying or selling on C2C platforms in 2023. Despite a slight dip in overall e-shoppers, the secondhand game is stronger than ever, especially in the Netherlands where 77% engage in online thrift shopping.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇺🇸 Lyft surges, then stumbles on earnings typo. Lyft's stock took a wild ride, soaring 60% on Q4's strong earnings, then dropping after a typo inflated profit margin forecasts. A clerical error turned a promising 500 basis points increase into a modest 50. CEO Risher's "My bad" couldn't curb the stock's rollercoaster journey.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇺🇸 Octup raises $4M for AI-driven e-commerce efficiency. Amid the glitz of tech innovation, Octup, an AI maestro, bags a cool $4M in pre-seed funding. This cash infusion fuels their quest to redefine e-commerce with AI, promising up to a 40% profit spike for online retailers. Investors are all in, betting big on Octup’s AI magic to streamline shopping.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇹🇷 GetMobil raises $4M, heralding a refurbished era. In a world where new gizmos cost an arm and a leg, Turkey’s GetMobil just bagged $4M to give old electronics new swagger. Backed by DFF and eco-warrior angels like Nevzat Aydın, it’s not just about cash—it’s a green manifesto. Gadgets get a second shot at life, proving cheaper doesn’t mean chintzier.👉Deep dive

▶ 🇩🇰 Go Autonomous bags $10M to revolutionize B2B. After securing a hefty $10.3M, Go Autonomous is set to conquer the B2B world with its AI. From Europe to the USA, they're transforming email chaos into seamless transactions, promising a digital revolution in business payments.👉Deep dive

That’s all. See you next week in the 🌀Maze!