Costco Wholesale has expanded its partnership with Uber Eats, making delivery from nearly 600 of its U.S. warehouse clubs available through the platform across 47 states.
The expansion, announced Sept. 16, increases Costco’s Uber Eats availability from 17 states and gives members access to on-demand and scheduled delivery of fresh produce, bulk groceries, household essentials and other merchandise.
Costco members can link their membership accounts to Uber Eats at checkout, allowing them to receive applicable member pricing while ordering through the platform.
The companies are also tying their respective membership programs more closely together. Eligible Costco members can receive 50% off an annual Uber One membership for the first year and 20% off in subsequent years. Uber One members receive no Uber fees on eligible grocery and retail orders of more than $60, subject to certain restrictions.
For a limited time, Costco is also selling $100 Uber and Uber Eats gift cards for $79.99 at participating warehouses and through Costco.com. Consumers can purchase Costco memberships through Uber Eats and receive 30% off their first eligible Costco order.
The U.S. expansion builds on an existing international relationship between the companies. Costco is currently available through Uber Eats in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, France and Spain.
The agreement represents another significant move by Uber into grocery and retail delivery beyond its traditional restaurant business.
Uber said last month that its Grocery & Retail business had reached $15 billion in annualized gross bookings and had been growing at roughly 40% year over year for several consecutive quarters. The company said Grocery & Retail was growing significantly faster than its restaurant-delivery business.
The Costco announcement also comes just a week after Uber Eats added more than 375 Wakefern Food Corp. supermarkets across the Northeast, including ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace and The Fresh Grocer locations. Uber has separately been expanding its relationship with Kroger, including plans to make nearly 2,700 Kroger-banner stores available through Uber Eats.
For Costco, the agreement adds another way to reach members without requiring the warehouse operator to build the entire last-mile infrastructure itself. For Uber, Costco brings something potentially more valuable than simply hundreds of additional stores: a large base of highly engaged members accustomed to making sizable stock-up trips.
Taken together with Uber’s recent grocery partnerships, the expansion underscores how third-party delivery platforms are increasingly competing not simply for restaurant occasions or emergency grocery purchases, but for a larger share of the regular household shopping trip.