We’ve all heard of backseat driving, but is it time for backseat shopping?
Will people really buy products in the back of an Uber?
With near-ubiquity in major cities across the globe, simple-to-use apps, and a range of price options, could Uber and other rideshare companies be any more convenient?
Maybe — as that’s the point of Cargo, a start-up that provides Uber and Lyft cars with convenience products like snacks, cosmetics, toiletries and electronics to sell to passengers during their journey.
But is there a market? Some rideshare drivers offer complementary tidbits like bottled water already. Will passengers want to purchase items — and what would they buy? We spoke to over 1,000 of our users — or bees — in the US and UK to find out.
An oasis in a rideshare desert
Free tidbits as you ride are still a relative rarity. Most of our bees (69%) say they have never been offered a complimentary item from their driver (77% in the UK and 61% in the US). Just 3.5% say they have been offered items many times.
And when drivers do offer something, what is it? Most common by far are drinks (77%) and food (57%), with electronics (e.g. access to a phone charger) a distant third (13%). Clearly drivers are not yet adventurous with their product offerings, but then their offerings are free, and designed to generate tips and high ratings.
As for purchasing products in a rideshare vehicle, market penetration is minuscule. Only 3.5% of our bees have bought an item in a rideshare — 5% in the US, where Cargo is already operating, and 2% in the UK. So at present, buying items in the back of an Uber or Lyft vehicle is virtually non-existent.
Food and drink on demand?
However, there is a vast prospective market: 7 in 10 say they would consider buying something from a rideshare driver if it were on offer.
The top picks are beverages (47%) and food (37%), but 1 in 4 say they would purchase urban survival items (such as maps and umbrellas) and 1 in 5 would buy alcohol (legal implications notwithstanding!) When asked about ridesharing in foreign cities, souvenirs were also popular (33%).
As for when they might buy, the most popular answers were “whenever really” (49%), on the way to a night out (26%), or on the way back (26%). Buying last-minute toiletries before a trip, or a bouquet of flowers before a date, didn’t factor highly.
Concerns: but when convenience is at stake…?
Although the majority would be interested in buying products while in a cab, some concerns remain.
While almost 2 in 3 (64%) believe that in-taxi shopping will be convenient and help passengers save time, over half (52%) say it’s just another excuse for companies to sell them things; and only 13% would prefer to buy from a taxi over an established convenience store chain.
There’s also substantial concerns about safety; 1 in 2 say they are worried that if rideshare drivers can sell products, they will be less careful when driving.
Give the consumer what they want
There is certainly potential for Cargo and others to tap into a relatively untouched market. The key will be to work out what exactly consumers want to be able to buy in a rideshare vehicle — and what the process is, and at what price point.
Passengers already suspect they will be bombarded with products they have little need for and which they would prefer to buy elsewhere — so companies like Cargo must make sure that buying the offerings is more convenient even than from a local convenience store.
In addition, companies must guarantee the safe transaction of these products, with no distraction to the driver. With people already concerned about the safety implications, one incident, or one instance of bad PR, could easily sway attitudes against the service as a whole.
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A quick word on our methodology: The figures in the article are taken from Streetbees community members in the UK and US, carried out in July 2018. All of the data was collected by mobile and web surveys, and is accurate to within 5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
