Industries that adopted Uber for X model

Nowadays Uber for X is constantly used for describing any startup idea. Some people love it, some don’t. Here we take a look at what industries are using on-demand approach popularized by Uber.

Uber for X is a model that uses the following principles from the original startup it is named after:

• Users order service online and get it offline.
• After the order is submitted service provider is instantly notified (usually service providers are contract workers and the first one nearby to accept the order gets it).
• Different apps for users and providers. Usually two separate apps or set of functions are available to clients and service providers (Uber driver app and Uber passenger app, for example).

Where do we see a lot of Uber for X implementations?

1. Food and grocery delivery

1. Instacart (Uber for groceries) delivers food and grocery from supermarkets and grocery stores.
2. Blue Apron (Uber for cooking) sends its users new step-by-step recipes every week (2 to 4, depending on the plan) and the exact amount of products needed to cook them. Since service has a pool of subscribers, it can buy products at wholesale while putting higher price on them for subscribers.
3. DoorDash (Uber for food delivery) offers customers to order food from local restaurants that don’t have their own delivery service. DoorDash contractors deliver food right to your doorstep.

2. Transportation and logistics

Apart from Uber, Lyft, Hailo and similar apps for booking or hailing a taxi uberification has also come into freighting and package shipping:

1. Lalamove (Uber for logistics) is a popular Asian startup for cargo delivery.
2. Shyp (Uber for packages) delivers packages of various types for you making sure you get the lowest price.
3. Luxe (Uber for parking) solves the problem of finding a free parking slot in a large over populated city.

3. Housework

After reaching a certain level of income people prefer to pay somebody for taking care about their house duties and have some spare time instead. Here’re some startups using this idea:

1. TaskRabbit (Uber for housekeeping) allows you to create a listing for a desired work (assemble furniture, iron or pick up clothes from cleaners, etc.) and find people willing to do it for you for a fee.
2. Urbansitter (Uber for babysitting) helps parents to find best babysitters in their area.
3. Wag! (Uber for dog walking) is great for people who aren’t always able to walk their dog as often as they’d like to.