Advertising Management: Uber Eats Consumer Insights Report, QUT

This report presents an analysis of consumer insights related to the online food delivery service, Uber Eats, based on interviews with young adults. The study employs the laddering technique to explore how consumers perceive Uber Eats, linking product attributes to consequences and ultimately to personal values. The report details the methodology, which involved one-on-one interviews focusing on food habits and online ordering preferences. The analysis includes a hierarchical value map (HVM) that illustrates the relationships between attributes, consequences, and values, with findings revealing consumer insights related to self-esteem, accomplishment, and belonging. The report also discusses managerial implications, such as the need for increased digital advertising and improved customer relationship management, while acknowledging limitations like food delivery time issues. The conclusion reinforces Uber Eats as a strong market player, emphasizing its engagement with consumers through a wide range of food options.

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Introduction:
To gauge the interest and opinion of the people towards their liking for the online food delivery
company Uber Eats, an interview session was conducted on a one-on-one basis. Since all these
individuals were adults who had just hopped out of their teen-age, it was more likely to have
them answer the questions related to buying food online. They were asked questions about their
food habits and about their choices as of when it comes to buying food that is available in the
markets or at the online portals. However, we were not able to cover the whole fraternity of
people who are into this segment since it would have been a very cumbersome and lengthy
exercise to do so. In the report, we have tried to encapsulate the attributes associated with the
products and services that Uber Eats offers to its customers(3). On the provision of these
attributes, we have tried to work upon the consequences that may have arrived after eating their
products. Last but not the least, we have put these attributes, consequences and the values in the
form of a chart also called as a hierarchical Value Map
Method:
The method that we have used here is the one that is preferred by most enthusiasts when it comes
to gain or gauge knowledge about a product or service. In our case, since the product and the
service, both belong to the same i.e the online food delivery company, we chose 5 individuals, all
in their mid-twenties, to discuss a few aspects about Uber Eats and how was their overall
experience. The very first question that was asked to them was whether they prefer to eat online
delivered food or do they just like to prepare their food by themselves/ Since or targeted
audience was a batch of young enthusiasts, the answer that was recorded the most was “yes”.
After getting to know that all the five are pretty much used to buying the food online. Next, they
were asked how often they order the food online.

Source: Uber Engineering
Now, this is different for most people because of different eating habits. The frequency of buying
the food also depends upon the family type, type of work one is doing to earn his or her
livelihood. Not all people who are not a part of the tertiary sector tend to buy food online and end
up eating their own or home-cooked food(1). Apart from the aforementioned, the pay scale of
people is also an important criterion when it comes to buying food online. Also, the output from
all the participants was compiled into data first, called as the raw data and was then subsequently
processes into ready to use data.
Analysis:
We also emphasized on laddering technique to get the right and truthful answers from the end-
user. For example, we asked the interviewee about whether the people are buying online
available food or they are just fine eating their cooked food. Our target audience, being a group
from their mid-twenties said no to all the questions. We also tried to choose the laddering
technique while asking questions from the people. The very first ladder that was put into use was
the question about why do they prefer buying foodstuff online. This led to understanding the real

reason behind the interviewee’s choice of buying the product or service. All the participants were
male and were all a part od and online platform.
Source: Uber Engineering
The above figure timeline illustrates the journey and the changes involved in changing the
system of food delivery. The raw interview data was collected from around 20 areas of the city
and including about 500 people to answer the questions on buying online food. All these points
garnered from the raw data collected from the people were carefully jotted down, and a summary
of questions was prepared to be asked from the participants (5). Out of the questions asked, the
attributes were chosen, then the consequences of those attributes were noted and then further,
several conclusions were drawn (also called as values). There are certain codes or set of
statements which help us differentiate between the aforementioned three.
Ladder 1 Ladder 2 Ladder 3 Ladder 4
Offers Variety Food is generally good Well Known Price is affordable
Helps to get a better mix of things Consistency prevails Better Quality Will result in saving money
Helps me to try new things Food is not too hot nor too cold Its popular and a lot of people buy it Helps me to feel good
Altogether, its great cuisine with floavour Helps me to have aquick bite We know its going to be good It is worth the investment
Source: Self.

Values Consequences Attributes
Self-Esteem Helps trying new things Taste
Accomplishment Helps to impress others as well Variety
Belonging Is a great sort of enjoyment Quality
Source: Self.
Source: Shutterstock
Suppose, if a statement, when asked, why is that you like the product or service? If the
interviewee answers this question, he is sure to be telling about the attribute of the product of this
service.
If a statement, when asked, would you like to buy or use, or suggest your friend buy or use this
product or service? The answer to this question shall give us the purpose of the product or
service.
IF the statement or the question can tell us about the end-use of the product or service, then we
consider it as a value.

Consumer Insight:
There were certain insights covered by the consumer also while having an experience with the
product or the service. An insight is generally an experience that has a long-lasting effect on the
user or the consumer (2). Since a consumer is the main guy that comes in contact with the
product or service, he/she is the best person to take the information about the product and
service. For example, no one can explain an I-phone better than an I–phone user by himself.
He/she can easily tell about the findings of the product, be it good or bad (7).
The Hierarchical Value Management Table
VALUES Self-Esteem Accomplishment Belonging
CONSEQUENCE
S
Helps trying new
things
Helps to impress others as
well
Is a great sort of
enjoyment
ATTRIBUTES Taste Variety Quality
Source: Self

Source: Slideshare.net
Managerial Implications:
Herein, after the questionnaire with the people, it was observed that Uber Eats is doing a lot of
advertisement on digital media, but at the same time, they should also increase the frequency of
their digital time on these platforms (4). Also, there were no banners or ads found for Uber Eats
in any area of residence of the interviewees. Thereby, Uber Eats should focus more on
advertising to extend its reach into the market.

Limitations:
There were certain limitations also which resurfaced while laddering with the people about the
products and services offered by Uber Eats. These include the lack of customer relationship
which is an evident feature of all the online food delivery companies. Also, the application for
the company should be a more user-friendly one to gauge the full interest of the customer. The
application should be as such so that the customer is bound to involve his/her friends into it. One
last limitation that was pointed out was that of food delivery time (6). Though having enough
outlets and restaurants in the dealership with their brand, due to the lesser number of delivery
guys, food delivery becomes a problem for them. A lot of complaints were received from the
consumer’s end that though the food being of good quality, it was not fresh enough to be
consumed with joy. This was only because there was enough difference between the cooking
time and the preparation time.
Conclusion:
Corroborating further upon the food delivery company and its associated attributes,
consequences of those attributes and the value associated with them, Uber Eats is a great market
player with sufficient R&D and other resources to be at par with its peers in the current world
scenario. Altogether, it keeps its customers engaged and satisfied with a wide range of foods and
other beverage stuff. The brand name is well known and the consumers are also well aware of
the products offered by them.

References:
1. Wahl C. Uber Eats the World. New Labor Forum. 2019;28(2):87-90.
2. Mitchell T, Jaquet C. Uber Eats. Revue du Crieur. 2020;N°15(1):76.
3. Monty R. Creative Economy: how the interface of Uber Eats and iFood could change your
menu. Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management. 2018;15(3):413-419.
4. Correa J, Garzón W, Brooker P, Sakarkar G, Carranza S, Yunado L et al. Evaluation of
collaborative consumption of food delivery services through web mining techniques. Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services. 2019;46:45-50.
5. Isaac M. One Surprise Standout for Uber: Food Delivery [Internet]. Nytimes.com. 2017 [cited
20 April 2020]. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/technology/ubereats-
food-delivery.html
6. Hamad F, Liu I, Zhang X. Food Discovery with Uber Eats: Building a Query Understanding
Engine [Internet]. Uber Engineering Blog. 2018 [cited 20 April 2020]. Available from:
https://eng.uber.com/uber-eats-query-understanding/
7. Carson B. Uber’s Secret Gold Mine: How Uber Eats Is Turning Into A Billion-Dollar
Business To Rival Grubhub [Internet]. Forbes. 2019 [cited 20 April 2020]. Available from:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2019/02/06/ubers-secret-gold-mine-how-uber-eats-is-
turning-into-a-billion-dollar-business-to-rival-grubhub/#4dce0c861fa9